Major histocompatibility complex genes partly explain early survival in house sparrows

Lukasch, Barbara; Westerdahl, Helena; Strandh, Maria; Knauer, Felix; Winkler, Hans; Moodley, Yoshan; Hoi, Herbert

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-06631-z

Cited by 20 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Second, some studies have reported associations between fitness and specific MHC alleles or supertypes (clusters of MHC alleles with similar physicochemical properties at their antigen-binding sites). For example, Lukasch et al (24) found that a specific MHC allele was associated with higher survival of house sparrow fledglings ( Passer domesticus ). Another study of great tits ( Parus major ) using mark-recapture data identified three MHC supertypes associated with fitness components, one with increased survival, one with increased lifetime reproductive success and another one with decreased lifetime reproductive success (25).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-dependent selection on MHC class 2 variation in a free-living ruminant

Huang

Dicks

Hadfield

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is the most variable gene family known in vertebrates. Parasite-mediated selection (PMS) is believed to be the main force maintaining diversity at MHC genes, but it has proven hard to demonstrate the exact PMS regime that is acting in natural populations. Demonstrating contemporary selection on MHC alleles is not trivial, and previous work has been constrained by limited genetic tools, low sample sizes, short time scales and anticonservative statistical approaches. Here, we use a conservative statistical approach to examine associations between MHC genes and fitness components, using haplotypes of expressed MHC class II genes in a large sample of Soay sheep (Ovis aries) monitored over their lifetimes between 1989 and 2012. Of the eight MHC haplotypes (A-H) identified, we found that haplotype C was associated with decreased male breeding success, haplotype D was associated with increased female life span, and haplotype F was associated with decreased female life span. Consistent with the increased lifespan in females, haplotype D has increased in frequency throughout the study period. Our results suggest the existence of contemporary balancing selection on MHC class II genes in Soay sheep as might be expected under the hypotheses of rare allele advantage or fluctuating selection and do not support an effect of heterozygous advantage.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age-dependent selection on MHC class 2 variation in a free-living ruminant

Huang

Dicks

Hadfield

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…In particular, the observation that males possessing an allele that may impair survival have songs that can be characterized by wider frequency ranges suggests that it may be beneficial for females to prefer males that sing at narrower bandwidths. Such males are unlikely to carry an MHC allele that makes individuals susceptible to parasitism and to have a genetic profile that incurs survival costs (see, e.g., Kloch, Baran, Buczek, Konarzewski, & Radwan, 2013;Loiseau et al, 2011;Lukasch et al, 2017). Singing at narrower frequency ranges may be more efficient in densely vegetated habitats, as it makes the signal less degradable or it allows the energy concentrated over small frequency bands for higher propagation (Boncoraglio & Saino, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The third, biologically motivated interpretation relied on the fitness value of MHC alleles, which was estimated relying on the strength of association between the presence of allele and longevity. If a particular allele implies parasite resistance (or susceptibility), individuals that harbour these alleles should realize higher (or lower) survival and live longer than individuals that do not have the allele (e.g., Bateson et al., ; Brouwer et al., ; Lukasch et al., ; Paterson, Wilson, & Pemberton, ; Sepil, Lachish, & Sheldon, ). Correspondingly, we tested for the association of each allele with lifespan (estimated as the oldest age in our long‐term ringing records) in a t test, from which the derived statistic was converted into an effect size ( r ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such an inference based on mean effect sizes can reveal whether several syllables are concordantly associated with allele number, at least with small or intermediate effect size. Note that we also considered applying an information-theoretic approach (e.g., sensu Lukasch et al, 2017), but finally we found it inappropriate in our design and data.…”

Section: The Relationships Between Particular Syllables and The Nummentioning

confidence: 99%

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MHC‐mediated sexual selection on birdsong: Generic polymorphism, particular alleles and acoustic signals

et al. 2018

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Several hypotheses predict that the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) drives mating preference in females. Olfactory, colour or morphological traits are often found as reliable signals of the MHC profile, but the role of avian song mediating MHC-based female choice remains largely unexplored. We investigated the relationship between several MHC and acoustic features in the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis), a European passerine with complex songs. We screened a fragment of the class IIB second exon of the MHC molecule, of which individuals harbour 4-15 alleles, while considerable sequence diversity is maintained at the population level. To make statistical inferences from a large number of comparisons, we adopted both null-hypothesis testing and effect size framework in combination with randomization procedures. After controlling for potential confounding factors, neither MHC allelic diversity nor the presence of particular alleles was associated remarkably with the investigated qualitative and quantitative song traits. Furthermore, genetic similarity among males based on MHC sequences was not reflected by the similarity in their song based on syllable content. Overall, these results suggest that the relationship between features of song and the allelic composition and diversity of MHC is not strong in the studied species. However, a biologically motivated analysis revealed that individuals that harbour an MHC allele that impairs survival perform songs with broader frequency range. This finding suggests that certain aspects of the song may bear reliable information concerning the MHC profile of the individuals, which can be used by females to optimize mate choice.

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“…; Lukasch et al. ), the role of gamete or early life viability in reducing mutation load has received limited attention (Agrawal and Whitlock ; Plough et al. ; Alavioon et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Do slower movers have lower reproductive success and higher mutation load?

Walsh

McGuigan

2018

Evolution Letters

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Deleterious mutations occur frequently in eukaryotes, resulting in individuals carrying multiple alleles that decrease their fitness. At a population level, if unchecked, accumulation of this mutation load can ultimately lead to extinction. How selection counters the accumulation of mutation load, limiting declines in population fitness, is not well understood. Here, we use manipulative experiments in zebrafish (Danio rerio) to investigate the opportunities for selection on mutation load. Inducing high mutation load through mutagenesis, we applied one generation of within‐family selection on locomotor performance and characterized both the direct response to this selection and the indirect response of reproductive success. Offspring of slow swimming parents exhibited age‐dependent declines in swimming speed, whereas their cousins, with faster swimming parents, did not. This pattern mimics previously documented differences between high and low mutation load populations of zebrafish, suggesting that slow swimming siblings inherited (and transmitted) more mutations than their faster swimming siblings. Crosses among offspring of slow swimming fish had, on average, <75% of the reproductive success of crosses among offspring of fast swimming parents, or crosses of offspring of slow swimmers with offspring of fast swimmers. This evidence of mutationally correlated swimming speed and reproductive success reveals the potential for concordant selection on mutation load through different fitness components. There was no evidence that crosses within families (where parents potentially shared the same mutations inherited from their common ancestor) had lower reproductive success than crosses among families, suggesting that viability selection was not acting predominantly through lethal recessive homozygotes. Rather, patterns of reproductive success are suggestive of effects of mutation number per se on embryo viability. Overall, our results highlight the potential for early life mortality to remove deleterious mutations, and the need to account for this mortality when investigating the evolutionary dynamics of mutation load.

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Major histocompatibility complex genes partly explain early survival in house sparrows

Cited by 20 publications

References 68 publications

Age-dependent selection on MHC class 2 variation in a free-living ruminant

Age-dependent selection on MHC class 2 variation in a free-living ruminant

MHC‐mediated sexual selection on birdsong: Generic polymorphism, particular alleles and acoustic signals

Do slower movers have lower reproductive success and higher mutation load?

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