MHC‐I provides both quantitative resistance and susceptibility to blood parasites in blue tits in the wild

Aguilar, Juan Rivero de; Westerdahl, Helena; Puente, Josué Martínez de la; Tomás, Gustavo; Martı́nez, Javier; Merino, Santiago

doi:10.1111/jav.00830

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…These epigenetic age estimates, in combination with other parameters including sex and weight, could be used to examine the effect of climate change on population viability (Lee, ). Recent studies also highlight other areas in which estimated age data could be informative, including post‐pest eradication monitoring of island‐breeding seabird populations (Brooke et al, ), parasite load in the Blue tit (Aguilar et al, ) and modelling the impacts of longline fisheries on effective population size (Cortés, García‐Barcelona, & González‐Solís, ; Mills & Ryan, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age estimation in a long‐lived seabird (Ardenna tenuirostris) using DNA methylation‐based biomarkers

Paoli-Iseppi

Deagle

Polanowski

et al. 2019

Molecular Ecology Resources

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Age structure is a fundamental aspect of animal population biology. Age is strongly related to individual physiological condition, reproductive potential and mortality rate. Currently, there are no robust molecular methods for age estimation in birds. Instead, individuals must be ringed as chicks to establish known‐age populations, which is a labour‐intensive and expensive process. The estimation of chronological age using DNA methylation (DNAm) is emerging as a robust approach in mammals including humans, mice and some non‐model species. Here, we quantified DNAm in whole blood samples from a total of 71 known‐age Short‐tailed shearwaters (Ardenna tenuirostris) using digital restriction enzyme analysis of methylation (DREAM). The DREAM method measures DNAm levels at thousands of CpG dinucleotides throughout the genome. We identified seven CpG sites with DNAm levels that correlated with age. A model based on these relationships estimated age with a mean difference of 2.8 years to known age, based on validation estimates from models created by repeated sampling of training and validation data subsets. Longitudinal observation of individuals re‐sampled over 1 or 2 years generally showed an increase in estimated age (6/7 cases). For the first time, we have shown that epigenetic changes with age can be detected in a wild bird. This approach should be of broad interest to researchers studying age biomarkers in non‐model species and will allow identification of markers that can be assessed using targeted techniques for accurate age estimation in large population studies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age estimation in a long‐lived seabird (Ardenna tenuirostris) using DNA methylation‐based biomarkers

Paoli-Iseppi

Deagle

Polanowski

et al. 2019

Molecular Ecology Resources

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“…Rivero-de Aguilar et al . 33 found associations between specific MHC class I alleles and increased susceptibility or resistance to Leucocytozoon parasites in a population of blue tits.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Major histocompatibility complex genes partly explain early survival in house sparrows

Lukasch

Westerdahl

Strandh

et al. 2017

Sci Rep

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Environmental factors and genetic incompatibilities between parents have been suggested as important determinants for embryonic mortality and survival. The genetic set-up of the immune system, specifically the highly polymorphic major histocompatibility complex (MHC) may also influence individual resistance to infections. MHC proteins are important for an appropriate adaptive immune response and enable T-cells to separate ‘self’ from ‘non-self’. Here we investigate the importance of MHC functional diversity for early development in birds, more specifically, if offspring survival and body mass or size depends on number of different functional MHC alleles, specific functional MHC alleles or similarity of MHC alleles in the parents. Unhatched eggs are common in clutches of many bird species. In house sparrows (Passer domesticus), embryo and nestling mortality can exceed 50%. To control for environmental factors, our study was carried out on an aviary population. We found that one specific functional MHC allele was associated with reduced nestling survival, which was additionally supported by lower body mass and a smaller tarsus when nestlings have been 6 days old. Another allele was positively associated with tarsus length at a later nestling stage (nestlings 12 days old). These results indicate that MHC alleles might influence pathogen resistance or susceptibility.

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“…While many studies have shown that specific MHC alleles can be associated with increased or decreased parasite load (Aguilar et al, 2016;Bateson et al, 2016;Bonneaud et al, 2006;Kloch et al, 2010;Kosch et al, 2016;Meyer-Lucht & Sommer, 2005Savage & Zamudio, 2011;Sepil et al, 2013;Teacher et al, 2009;Westerdahl et al, 2012), the consequences that such associations may have for changes in MHC allele frequencies have been less well studied (but see Westerdahl et al, 2004). Perhaps the best example that we are aware of is an experimental study in sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) showing a rapid shift of MHC allele frequencies in response to parasite-mediated selection over just one generation (Eizaguirre, Lenz, Kalbe, & Milinski, 2012b (Kloch et al, 2010;Madsen & Ujvari, 2006;Wegner, Kalbe, Milinski, & Reusch, 2008; , but are consistent with positive associations between MHC allele number and resistance to avian malaria reported for collared flycatchers Ficedula albicollis and great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus (Radwan et al, 2012;Westerdahl et al, 2005).…”

Section: Selection On Mhc Class I Supertypesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…MHC variants (alleles, genotypes, supertypes) and infection status/ intensity (e.g., Aguilar et al, 2016;Bateson et al, 2016;Bonneaud, P erez-Tris, Federici, Chastel, & Sorci, 2006;Kloch, Babik, Bajer, Si nski, & Radwan, 2010;Kosch et al, 2016;Meyer-Lucht & Sommer, 2005Savage & Zamudio, 2011;Sepil, Lachish, Hinks, & Sheldon, 2013;Teacher, Garner, & Nichols, 2009;Westerdahl, Asghar, Hasselquist, & Bensch, 2012). Such associations suggest that pathogens exert selection pressure on MHC genotypes, which should be reflected in temporal changes in MHC allele frequencies.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Blood parasites shape extreme major histocompatibility complex diversity in a migratory passerine

et al. 2018

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Pathogens are one of the main forces driving the evolution and maintenance of the highly polymorphic genes of the vertebrate major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Although MHC proteins are crucial in pathogen recognition, it is still poorly understood how pathogen-mediated selection promotes and maintains MHC diversity, and especially so in host species with highly duplicated MHC genes. Sedge warblers (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) have highly duplicated MHC genes, and using data from high-throughput MHC genotyping, we were able to investigate to what extent avian malaria parasites explain temporal MHC class I supertype fluctuations in a long-term study population. We investigated infection status and infection intensities of two different strains of Haemoproteus, that is avian malaria parasites that are known to have significant fitness consequences in sedge warblers. We found that prevalence of avian malaria in carriers of specific MHC class I supertypes was a significant predictor of their frequency changes between years. This finding suggests that avian malaria infections partly drive the temporal fluctuations of the MHC class I supertypes. Furthermore, we found that individuals with a large number of different supertypes had higher resistance to avian malaria, but there was no evidence for an optimal MHC class I diversity. Thus, the two studied malaria parasite strains appear to select for a high MHC class I supertype diversity. Such selection may explain the maintenance of the extremely high number of MHC class I gene copies in sedge warblers and possibly also in other passerines where avian malaria is a common disease.

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MHC‐I provides both quantitative resistance and susceptibility to blood parasites in blue tits in the wild

Cited by 21 publications

References 76 publications

Age estimation in a long‐lived seabird (Ardenna tenuirostris) using DNA methylation‐based biomarkers

Age estimation in a long‐lived seabird (Ardenna tenuirostris) using DNA methylation‐based biomarkers

Major histocompatibility complex genes partly explain early survival in house sparrows

Blood parasites shape extreme major histocompatibility complex diversity in a migratory passerine

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