Sammanfattning

Mate choice for major histocompatibility complex (MHC) compatibility has been found in several taxa, although rarely in birds. MHC is a crucial component in adaptive immunity and by choosing an MHC-dissimilar partner, heterozygosity and potentially broad pathogen resistance is maximized in the offspring. The MHC genotype influences odour cues and preferences in mammals and fish and hence olfactory-based mate choice can occur. We tested whether blue petrels, Halobaena caerulea, choose partners based on MHC compatibility. This bird is long-lived, monogamous and can discriminate between individual odours using olfaction, which makes it exceptionally well suited for this analysis. We screened MHC class I and II B alleles in blue petrels using 454-pyrosequencing and quantified the phylogenetic, functional and allele-sharing similarity between individuals. Partners were functionally more dissimilar at the MHC class II B loci than expected from random mating (p = 0.033), whereas there was no such difference at the MHC class I loci. Phylogenetic and non-sequence-based MHC allele-sharing measures detected no MHC dissimilarity between partners for either MHC class I or II B. Our study provides evidence of mate choice for MHC compatibility in a bird with a high dependency on odour cues, suggesting that MHC odour-mediated mate choice occurs in birds.

Nyckelord

major histocompatibility complex; MHC class I; MHC class II B; 454-pyrosequencing; genetic compatibility

Publicerad i

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
2012, Volym: 279, nummer: 1746, sidor: 4457-4463
Utgivare: ROYAL SOC

UKÄ forskningsämne

Immunologi
Evolutionsbiologi
Biokemi och molekylärbiologi


Publikationens identifierare

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1562

Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/50684