Journal article
Major histocompatibility complex genes map to two chromosomes in an evolutionarily ancient reptile, the tuatara sphenodon punctatus
G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, Vol.5(7), pp.1439-1451
2015
Abstract
Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are a central component of the vertebrate immune system and usually exist in a single genomic region. However, considerable differences in MHC organization and size exist between different vertebrate lineages. Reptiles occupy a key evolutionary position for understanding how variation in MHC structure evolved in vertebrates, but information on the structure of the MHC region in reptiles is limited. In this study, we investigate the organization and cytogenetic location of MHC genes in the tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus), the sole extant representative of the early-diverging reptilian order Rhynchocephalia. Sequencing and mapping of 12 clones containing class I and II MHC genes from a bacterial artificial chromosome library indicated that the core MHC region is located on chromosome 13q. However, duplication and translocation of MHC genes outside of thecore region was evident, because additional class I MHC genes were located on chromosome 4p. We found a total of seven class I sequences and 11 class II β sequences, with evidence for duplication and pseudogenization of genes within the tuatara lineage. The tuatara MHC is characterized by high repeat content and low gene density compared with other species and we found no antigen processing or MHC framework genes on the MHC gene-containing clones. Our findings indicate substantial differences in MHC organization in tuatara compared with mammalian and avian MHCs and highlight the dynamic nature of the MHC. Further sequencing and annotation of tuatara and other reptile MHCs will determine if the tuatara MHC is representative of nonavian reptiles in general. © 2015 Miller et al.
Details
- Title
- Major histocompatibility complex genes map to two chromosomes in an evolutionarily ancient reptile, the tuatara sphenodon punctatus
- Authors
- H C Miller (Author) - Victoria University of Wellington, New ZealandDenis O'Meally (Author) - Australian National UniversityT Ezaz (Author) - Australian National UniversityC Amemiya (Author) - Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, United StatesJ A Marshall-Graves (Author) - Australian National UniversityScott Edwards (Author) - Harvard University, United States
- Publication details
- G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, Vol.5(7), pp.1439-1451
- Publisher
- Genetics Society of America
- Date published
- 2015
- DOI
- 10.1534/g3.115.017467
- ISSN
- 2160-1836
- Copyright note
- Copyright © 2015 Miller et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99449459802621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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