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High polymorphism in MHC-DRB genes in golden snub-nosed monkeys reveals balancing selection in small, isolated populations

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Ecology and Evolution, March 2018
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Title
High polymorphism in MHC-DRB genes in golden snub-nosed monkeys reveals balancing selection in small, isolated populations
Published in
BMC Ecology and Evolution, March 2018
DOI 10.1186/s12862-018-1148-7
Pubmed ID
Authors

Pei Zhang, Kang Huang, Bingyi Zhang, Derek W. Dunn, Dan Chen, Fan Li, Xiaoguang Qi, Songtao Guo, Baoguo Li

Abstract

Maintaining variation in immune genes, such as those of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), is important for individuals in small, isolated populations to resist pathogens and parasites. The golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana), an endangered primate endemic to China, has experienced a rapid reduction in numbers and severe population fragmentation over recent years. For this study, we measured the DRB diversity among 122 monkeys from three populations in the Qinling Mountains, and estimated the relative importance of different agents of selection in maintaining variation of DRB genes. We identified a total of 19 DRB sequences, in which five alleles were novel. We found high DRB variation in R. roxellana and three branches of evidence suggesting that balancing selection has contributed to maintaining MHC polymorphism over the long term in this species: i) different patterns of both genetic diversity and population differentiation were detected at MHC and neutral markers; ii) an excess of non-synonymous substitutions compared to synonymous substitutions at antigen binding sites, and maximum-likelihood-based random-site models, showed significant positive selection; and iii) phylogenetic analyses revealed a pattern of trans-species evolution for DRB genes. High levels of DRB diversity in these R. roxellana populations may reflect strong selection pressure in this species. Patterns of genetic diversity and population differentiation, positive selection, as well as trans-species evolution, suggest that pathogen-mediated balancing selection has contributed to maintaining MHC polymorphism in R. roxellana over the long term. This study furthers our understanding of the role pathogen-mediated balancing selection has in maintaining variation in MHC genes in small and fragmented populations of free-ranging vertebrates.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 29 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 29 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 6 21%
Student > Bachelor 3 10%
Professor 3 10%
Student > Ph. D. Student 3 10%
Researcher 2 7%
Other 4 14%
Unknown 8 28%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 9 31%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 7 24%
Environmental Science 1 3%
Unspecified 1 3%
Psychology 1 3%
Other 1 3%
Unknown 9 31%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 15 May 2018.
All research outputs
#20,663,600
of 25,382,440 outputs
Outputs from BMC Ecology and Evolution
#3,267
of 3,714 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#274,616
of 351,846 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Ecology and Evolution
#58
of 63 outputs
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