Evolution and ecology of MHC molecules: from genomics to sexual selection

In the past few years the DNA sequence database for molecules of the MHC (major histocompatibility complex) has expanded greatly, yielding a more complete picture of the long-term rates and patterns of evolution of the MHC in vertebrates. Sharing of MHC allelic lineages between long-diverged species...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Trends in ecology & evolution (Amsterdam) 1998-08, Vol.13 (8), p.305-311
Main Authors: Edwards, Scott V., Hedrick, Philip W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
balancing selection
Biological and medical sciences
Classical genetics, quantitative genetics, hybrids
evolutionary rates
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution
genomics
MHC
multigene families
phylogeny
selection
sexual selection
Vertebrata
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the past few years the DNA sequence database for molecules of the MHC (major histocompatibility complex) has expanded greatly, yielding a more complete picture of the long-term rates and patterns of evolution of the MHC in vertebrates. Sharing of MHC allelic lineages between long-diverged species (trans-species evolution) has been detected virtually wherever it is sought, but new analyses of linked neutral regions and the complexities of sequence convergence and microrecombination in the peptide binding region challenge traditional phylogenetic analyses. Methods for estimating the intensity of selection on MHC genes suggest that viability is important, but recent studies in natural populations of mammals give inconsistent results concerning mate choice. The complex and interacting roles of microrecombination, parasite-mediated selection and mating preferences for maintaining the extraordinary levels of MHC polymorphism observed are still difficult to evaluate.
ISSN:0169-5347
1872-8383
DOI:10.1016/S0169-5347(98)01416-5