The trans-species nature of rabbit b locus polymorphism is supported by studies on the snow-shoe hare

Bouton, Christianne; Loo, W. van der

doi:10.1007/s002510050229

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…The b6 lineage is also present in RAD, implying the coalescence of the b6 genes of the major mtDNA lineages. In addition, DNA sequences of the IGKC1 homologue in Lepus species (i.e., bla1 and bla2) suggest that allele persistence times can be longer than speciation times (Bouton and van der Loo 1997).…”

Section: Relevance To Igkc1-locus Evolutionary Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cytonuclear disequilibria in wild populations of rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus L. ) suggest unequal allele turnover rates at the b locus ( IGKC1 )

Loo¹,

Mougel

Sánchez

et al. 1999

Immunogenetics

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DNA sequence comparisons suggest that evolutionary rates at the rabbit IGKC1 locus can differ among allelic lineages. Here we address the question of whether population turnover rates can vary among IGKC1 alleles. We studied the distribution of sixteen IGKC1 (or b-locus) allotypes in areas comprising the aboriginal species range (Iberian peninsula). Rabbits in this area belong to one of two distantly related mitochondrial lineages (mtDNA types) A and B. In the more recent distribution area of the species, all rabbits belong to the mtDNA type B lineage, and IGKC1 alleles b4 and b5 comprise over 90% of the gene pool. These two alleles are also predominant in areas of mtDNA type B prevalence within the Iberian range. However, in areas of mtDNA type A prevalence, the b4 and b5 allotypes are rare or absent; they apparently have been replaced by serologically related, but distinct, 'endemic' variants. The cytonuclear disequilibria were highly significant, also within the subsample consisting of populations from Spain. These observations suggest that allelic persistence times for the predominant IGKC1 lineages could be shorter than the divergence time of the major mtDNA lineages A and B. In contrast, the relative gene frequencies of the IGKC1 allele b9 were similar among the type A and type B rabbits; it was present in most populations at low frequency. In consequence, persistence times of the b9 allele appear to be longer than the divergence time of lineages A and B. The data reported here are in agreement with the DNA sequence data, providing further proof that the molecular clock can run at different rates among allelic lineages at the rabbit IGKC1 locus.

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Section: Relevance To Igkc1-locus Evolutionary Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cytonuclear disequilibria in wild populations of rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus L. ) suggest unequal allele turnover rates at the b locus ( IGKC1 )

Loo¹,

Mougel

Sánchez

et al. 1999

Immunogenetics

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“…Some of the isotypes present in the leporid ancestor (around 18 million years ago, (29)) have been retained in descendant species such as European rabbit and hares. Indeed, trans-species polymorphisms have also been observed between rabbit and hares in other antibody genes such as IGHV or IGCK1 (30,31).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The IgA of hares (Lepus sp.) and rabbit confirms that the leporids IgA explosion is old and reveals a new case of trans-species polymorphism

2023

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BackgroundImmunoglobulin A (IgA) is the mammalian mucosal antibody, providing an important line of defense against pathogens. With 15 IgA subclasses, the European rabbit has an extremely complex IgA system, strikingly more complex than most other mammals, which have only one IgA or, in the case of hominoids, two IgA subclasses. Similar to the two hominoid primate IGHA genes, the expansion of the rabbit IGHA genes appears to have begun in an ancestral lagomorph since multiple IgA copies were found by Southern blot analysis for the genera Sylvilagus, Lepus, and Ochotona.ResultsTo gain a better insight into the extraordinary lagomorph IgA evolution, we sequenced, for the first time, expressed IgA genes for two Lepus species, L. europaeus and L. granatensis. These were aligned with the 15 rabbit IgA isotypes, and evolutionary analyses were conducted. The obtained phylogenetic tree shows that the Lepus IgA sequences cluster with and among the rabbit IgA isotypes, and the interspecies and intraspecies nucleotide genetic distances are similar. A comparison of the amino acid sequences of the Lepus and rabbit IgA confirms that there are two trans-species polymorphisms and that the rabbit and Lepus sequences share a common genetic pool. In fact, the main differences between the studied leporids IgAs reside in the characteristics of the hinge region.ConclusionThe Lepus IgA sequences we have obtained strongly suggest that the great expansion of the leporid IGHA genes occurred in a common ancestral species and was then maintained in the descendants. A strong selective pressure caused the extraordinary expansion of the IGHA genes but then subsided, leading to the maintenance of the acquired polymorphisms in the descendants, with little subsequent divergence. This is a unique evolutionary pattern in which an ancient gene expansion has been maintained for approximately 18 million years.

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“…For other leporids, the study of immunoglobulin genes is mainly restricted to the genera Lepus and Sylvilagus (Cazenave et al, 1977, Teherani and Mandy, 1976a, 1976b; Teherani et al, 1979; Teherani et al, 1982; Bouton and van der Loo, 1997; Esteves et al, 2002a, 2005, 2006). Lepus is a polytypic, cosmopolitan genus, comprising 24 to 30 currently recognized species (Corbet and Hill, 1980; Flux and Angermann, 1990; Alves and Hacklander, 2008), that, like Sylvilagus , most probably originated in North America (Lopez-Martinez 2008, Mathee et al, 2004).…”

Section: Lagomorph Taxonomymentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular bases of genetic diversity and evolution of the immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region (IGHV) gene locus in leporids

et al. 2011

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The rabbit has long been a model for studies of the immune system. Work using rabbits contributed both to the battle against infectious diseases such as rabies and syphilis, and to our knowledge of antibodies' structure, function, and regulated expression. With the description of rabbit Ig allotypes, the discovery of different gene segments encoding immunoglobulins became possible. This challenged the “one gene-one protein” dogma. The observation that rabbit allotypic specificities of the variable regions were present on IgM and IgG molecules also led to the hypothesis of Ig class switching. Rabbit allotypes contributed to the documentation of phenomena such as allelic exclusion and imbalance in production of allelic gene products. During the last 30 years, the rabbit Ig allotypes revealed a number of unique features, setting them apart from mice, humans and other mammals. Here, we review the most relevant findings concerning the rabbit IGHV. Among these are the preferential usage of one VH gene in VDJ rearrangements, the existence of trans-species polymorphism in the IGHV locus revealed by serology and confirmed by sequencing IGHV genes in Lepus, the unusually large genetic distances between allelic lineages and the fact that the antibody repertoire is diversified in this species only after birth. The Whole Genome Sequence of rabbit, plus re-sequencing of additional strains and related genera, will allow further evolutionary investigations of antibody variation. Continued research will help define the roles that genetic, allelic and population diversity at antibody loci may play in host-parasite interactions.

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The trans-species nature of rabbit b locus polymorphism is supported by studies on the snow-shoe hare

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Cytonuclear disequilibria in wild populations of rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus L. ) suggest unequal allele turnover rates at the b locus ( IGKC1 )

Cytonuclear disequilibria in wild populations of rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus L. ) suggest unequal allele turnover rates at the b locus ( IGKC1 )

The IgA of hares (Lepus sp.) and rabbit confirms that the leporids IgA explosion is old and reveals a new case of trans-species polymorphism

Molecular bases of genetic diversity and evolution of the immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region (IGHV) gene locus in leporids

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