Journal ArticleDOI
MHC polymorphism pre-dating speciation.
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TLDR
Evidence is presented for an alternative explanation of the origin of MHC polymorphism: a large part of the M HC polymorphism pre-dates speciation and is passed on from species to species.Abstract:
Two features distinguish the polymorphism of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) loci from that of other loci: its high diversity and the large genetic distance between MHC alleles. More than 100 alleles exist in natural populations in the mouse at each of the functional class I and class II alleles, all alleles occurring at frequencies that cannot be explained by recurrent mutations. Some of the alleles differ by approximately 70 nucleotides in the coding region alone and some of the products of the allelic genes differ by more than 50 amino acids. It has generally been assumed that these differences accumulated after species inception. Here, we present evidence for an alternative explanation of the origin of MHC polymorphism: a large part of the MHC polymorphism pre-dates speciation and is passed on from species to species. We describe allelic differences that must have arisen before the separation of mice and rats from a common ancestor more than 10 million years ago.read more
Citations
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Common West African HLA antigens are associated with protection from severe malaria
Adrian V. S. Hill,Catherine E. M. Allsopp,Dominic P. Kwiatkowski,Nicholas M. Anstey,Patrick Twumasi,P. Rowe,Stephen Bennett,David Brewster,Andrew J. McMichael,Brian M. Greenwood +9 more
TL;DR: Data support the hypothesis that the extraordinary polymorphism of major histocompatibility complex genes has evolved primarily through natural selection by infectious pathogens.
Journal ArticleDOI
Sexual reproduction as an adaptation to resist parasites (a review)
TL;DR: P parasite coevolution is superior to previous models of the evolution of sex by supporting the stability of sex under the following challenging conditions: very low fecundity, realistic patterns of genotype fitness and changing environment, and frequent mutation to parthenogenesis, even while sex pays the full 2-fold cost.
Journal ArticleDOI
Concerted and birth-and-death evolution of multigene families.
TL;DR: Until around 1990, most multigene families were thought to be subject to concerted evolution, in which all member genes of a family evolve as a unit in concert, but phylogenetic analysis of MHC and other immune system genes showed a quite different evolutionary pattern, and a new model called birth-and-death evolution was proposed.
Journal ArticleDOI
MHC studies in nonmodel vertebrates: what have we learned about natural selection in 15 years?
TL;DR: Overall, the evidence is compelling that the MHC currently represents the best system available in vertebrates to investigate how natural selection can promote local adaptation at the gene level despite the counteracting actions of migration and genetic drift.
Journal ArticleDOI
Estimating Divergence Times from Molecular Data on Phylogenetic and Population Genetic Timescales
TL;DR: A review of recent advances in estimating divergence times from molecular data, emphasizing the continuum between processes at the phylogenetic and population genetic scales, and the importance of model testing during the process of divergence time estimation.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
DNA sequencing with chain-terminating inhibitors
TL;DR: A new method for determining nucleotide sequences in DNA is described, which makes use of the 2',3'-dideoxy and arabinon nucleoside analogues of the normal deoxynucleoside triphosphates, which act as specific chain-terminating inhibitors of DNA polymerase.
Journal ArticleDOI
Pattern of nucleotide substitution at major histocompatibility complex class I loci reveals overdominant selection
Austin L. Hughes,Masatoshi Nei +1 more
TL;DR: Examination of the pattern of nucleotide substitution between polymorphic alleles in the region of the antigen recognition site (ARS) indicates that in ARS the rate of nonsynonymous substitution is significantly higher than that of synonymous substitution in both humans and mice, whereas in other regions the reverse is true.
Book
Natural history of the major histocompatibility complex
TL;DR: The Story TheGene: Organismic approach The Gene: Molecular approach The Protein The Antibody The Cell Function The Population Sociology Evolution Index.
Journal ArticleDOI
Rates of DNA sequence evolution differ between taxonomic groups
TL;DR: Examination of available measurements shows that rates of DNA change of different phylogenetic groups differ by a factor of 5, with the slowest rates observed for higher primates and some bird lineages, while faster rates are seen in rodents, sea urchins, and drosophila.
Journal ArticleDOI
Origin of major histocompatibility complex polymorphism: the trans-species hypothesis.
TL;DR: The sphinx of immunology, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), has revealed most of her secrets except the two most profound ones: what is the true MHC function, andWhat is the origin and significance of MHC polymorphism?
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Pattern of nucleotide substitution at major histocompatibility complex class I loci reveals overdominant selection
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