Female sticklebacks count alleles in a strategy of sexual selection explaining MHC polymorphism.

The origin and maintenance of polymorphism in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes in natural populations is still unresolved. Sexual selection, frequency-dependent selection by parasites and pathogens, and heterozygote advantage have been suggested to explain the maintenance of high allele diversity at MHC genes. Here we argue that there are two (non-exclusive) strategies for MHC-related sexual selection, representing solutions to two different problems: inbreeding avoidance and parasite resistance. In species prone to inadvertent inbreeding, partners should prefer dissimilar MHC genotypes to similar ones. But if the goal is to maximize the resistance of offspring towards potential infections, the choosing sex should prefer mates with a higher diversity of MHC alleles. This latter strategy should apply when there are several MHC loci, as is the case in most vertebrates. We tested the relative importance of an 'allele counting' strategy compared to a disassortative mating strategy using wild-caught three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from an interconnected system of lakes. Here we show that gravid female fish preferred the odour of males with a large number of MHC class-IIB alleles to that of males with fewer alleles. Females did not prefer male genotypes dissimilar to their own.     

基于MHCⅡ类B基因的凹耳臭蛙(Odorrana tormota)种群遗传分化模式

利用II类MHC基因单基因座位Odto-A作为分子标记,对皖南山区凹耳臭蛙6个种群的遗传多样性和遗传分化进行研究.结果显示,皖南凹耳臭蛙总的基因多样性为0.812,核苷酸多样性为0.018.局域种群单倍型多样性变化范围为0.531-0.864,香溪种群单倍型多样性最高,最低的是漳河种群.与线粒体cyt b基因所揭示的单倍型多样性差别不大,但B基因的核苷酸多样性较之线粒体cyt b基因的高达一个数量级.暗示MHC基因丰富的核苷酸多态性可能与其病原体抗性多样性密切相关.分子变异分析结果显示,皖南山区凹耳臭蛙种群MHC II类B基因遗传变异主要来源于种群内,种群间发生了显著的遗传分化(Fst=0.05644,P=0.00391).成对种群间的遗传分化分析结果显示,直线距离最近的浮溪和香溪种群间也发生了显著的遗传分化,暗示这两个种群经历了不同的选择压力.受平衡选择的作用,MHC基因与基于中性分子标记所揭示的遗传格局不同,基于MHC基因的种群遗传分化与水系和直线地理距离均没有明显的相关性,而与种群所经历的选择压力密切相关.结果表明皖南凹耳臭蛙不同局域种群所经历的环境病原体的选择压力存在时空变异.     

MHC II DRB variation and trans-species polymorphism in the golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana)

Genetic variation is generally believed to be important in studying endangered species’ adaptive potential.Early studies assessed genetic diversity using nearly neutral markers,such as microsatellite loci and mitochondrial DNA(mtDNA),which are very informative for phylogenetic and phylogeographic reconstructions.However,the variation at these loci cannot provide direct information on selective processes involving the interaction of individuals with their environment,or on the capability to resist continuously evolving pathogens and parasites.The importance of genetic diversity at informative adaptive markers,such as major histocompatibility complex(MHC) genes,is increasingly being realized,especially in endangered,isolated species.Small population size and isolation make the golden snub-nosed monkey(Rhinopithecus roxellana) particularly susceptible to genetic variation losses through inbreeding and restricted gene flow.In this study,we compared the genetic variation and population structure of microsatellites,mtDNA,and the most relevant adaptive region of the MHC II-DRB genes in the golden snub-nosed monkey.We examined three Chinese R.roxellana populations and found the same variation patterns in all gene regions,with the population from Shennongjia population,Hubei Province,showing the lowest polymorphism among three populations.Genetic drift that outweighed balancing selection and the founder effect in these populations may explain the similar genetic variation pattern found in these neutral and adaptive genes.     

Stage-structured cycles promote genetic diversity in a predator-prey system of Daphnia and algae

Competition theory predicts that population fluctuations can promote genetic diversity when combined with density-dependent selection. However, this stabilizing mechanism has rarely been tested, and was recently rejected as an explanation for maintaining diversity in natural populations of the freshwater herbivore Daphnia pulex. The primary limitation of competition theory is its failure to account for the alternative types of population cycles that are caused by size- or stage-dependent population vital rates--even though such structure both explains the fluctuating dynamics of many species and may alter the outcome of competition. Here we provide the first experimental test of whether alternative types of cycles affect natural selection in predator-prey systems. Using competing Daphnia genotypes, we show that internally generated, stage-structured cycles substantially reduce the magnitude of selection (thereby contributing to the maintenance of genetic diversity), whereas externally forced cycles show rapid competitive exclusion. The change in selection is ecologically significant, spanning the observed range in natural populations. We argue that structured cycles reduce selection through a combination of stalled juvenile development and stage-specific mortality. This potentially general fitness-equalizing mechanism may reduce the need for strong stabilizing mechanisms to explain the maintenance of genetic diversity in natural systems.     

The origin of MHC class II gene polymorphism within the genus Mus

The I region of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) of the mouse (H-2) contains a tightly-linked cluster of highly polymorphic genes (class II MHC genes) which control immune responsiveness. Speculation on the origin of this polymorphism, which is believed to be essential for the function of the class II proteins in immune responses to disease, has given rise to two hypotheses. The first is that hypermutational mechanisms (gene conversion or segmental exchange) promote the rapid generation of diversity in MHC genes. The alternative is that polymorphism has arisen from the steady accumulation of mutations over long evolutionary periods, and multiple specific alleles have survived speciation (trans-species evolution). We have looked for evidence of 'segmental exchange' and/or 'trans-species evolution' in the class II genes of the genus Mus by molecular genetic analysis of I-A beta alleles. The results indicate that greater than 90% (28 out of 31) of the alleles examined can be organized into two evolutionary groups both on the basis of restriction site polymorphisms and by the presence or absence of a short interspersed nucleotide element (SINE). Using this SINE sequence as an evolutionary tag, we demonstrate that I-A beta alleles in these two evolutionary groups diverged at least three million years ago and have survived the speciation events leading to several modern Mus species. Nucleotide sequence comparisons of eight Mus m. domesticus I-A beta alleles representing all three evolutionary groups indicate that most of the divergence in exon sequences is due to the steady accumulation of mutations that are maintained independently in the different alleles. But segmental exchanges between alleles from different evolutionary groups have also played a role in the diversification of beta 1 exons.     

Bt/CpTI抗虫转基因水稻及其非转基因亲本与普通野生稻杂种F2群体的等位基因偏态分离

了解水稻转基因是否影响野生稻基因传递的频率,对于评价转基因逃逸及其生态影响有重要意义.本研究构建了不含转基因和含转基因的栽培稻与普通野生稻杂种F2群体,利用分子标记检测了F2群体各位点的基因型和基因频率.以连续卡方分析了F2群体相关位点的基因型和基因频率观察值是否符合理论分离比,同时对各位点进行了连锁不平衡分析,并对实验群体所需的最小样本量进行理论探索.结果表明两个F2群体分别有25.93%与33.33%的位点出现了显著的非随机分离,非转基因与转基因F2群体分别在偏态分离位点数与偏离亲本方向上出现一定差异,并观察到连锁不平衡位点.实验个体数应不少于280个才能保证实验结果准确.外源转基因在杂种后代群体中会因为选择而影响基因分离,进而影响杂种群体的进化潜力.     

杉木遗传改良中的若干基本问题(续)

<正>在当前的树木改良中,常用的遗传交配设计（以下简称遗传设计）有：①自由授粉子代剖定②群状交配设计③测交系设计（析因设计）;④多系混合杂交⑤双列杂交设计     

9个地方鸡种MHC B-G座位多态性及其分子系统进化分析

以我国9个地方鸡为研究对象,对其MHC B-G座位全基因序列进行测序,以揭示这9个地方鸡种MHC B-G基因的遗传多样性,并构建其系统进化树.结果表明,9个地方鸡种MHC B-G基因序列具有较高的遗传多样性,在9个地方鸡种中共存在666个突变位点,其中单一位点突变554个,简约信息112个,共缺失782 bp.核苷酸多样度(Pi)为0.030 79±0.004 39,平均核苷酸差异(K)为182.639.9个地方鸡品种为9个单倍型,单倍型多样度为1.00±0.052.9个鸡种MHC B-G基因Kiumura双参数遗传距离范围为0.010～0.070,鹿苑鸡与新狼山鸡的遗传距离最小,为0.010;茶花鸡与东乡绿壳蛋鸡遗传距离最大,为0.070.根据9个鸡品种MHC B-G基因全序列构建的NJ树和ME树,茶花鸡单独聚为1类,其他8个品种被聚为2大类.Tajima's D值为-1.554 6,且差异不显著(0.10>P>0.05),说明MHC B-G基因为负向选择,不遵循中性进化理论,MHC B-G基因多态性不是遗传漂变的结果,而是自然选择和人工选择的结果.     

A novel family of human major histocompatibility complex-related genes not mapping to chromosome 6

Thymocyte antigens CD1 [Thy,gp45,12] are thought to be the human counterparts of mouse thymus leukaemia (TL) antigens. Serological and biochemical analyses indicate that at least three subsets exist, the first of which (HTA 1/T6) was initially identified by the monoclonal antibody NA1/34. Like TL, CD1 are expressed on cortical thymocytes as well as on some lymphoid neoplasias, and resemble in structure major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antigens. However HTA 1/T6 is loosely associated with beta 2-microglobulin and is also found linked by a disulphide bridge to CD8(T8). A molecular genetic approach is needed to investigate the CD1 system, to clarify its relationship to TL antigens and to understand its regulation. We report the isolation of complementary DNA (cDNA) clones encoding a CD1 antigen. These clones reveal a novel family of genes which are MHC-related but are neither equivalent to mouse TL antigens nor linked to the MHC.     

Negative genetic correlation between male sexual attractiveness and survival

Indirect selection of female mating preferences may result from a genetic association between male attractiveness and offspring fitness. The offspring of attractive males may have enhanced growth, fecundity, viability or attractiveness. However, the extent to which attractive males bear genes that reduce other fitness components has remained unexplored. Here I show that sexual attractiveness in male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) is heritable and genetically correlated with ornamentation. Like ornamentation, attractiveness may be substantially Y-linked. The benefit of mating with attractive males, and thus having attractive sons, is opposed by strong negative genetic correlation between attractiveness and both offspring survival and the number of sons maturing. Such correlations suggest either antagonistic pleiotropy between attractiveness and survival or linkage disequilibrium between attractive and deleterious alleles. The presence of many colour pattern genes on or near the non-recombining section of the Y chromosome may facilitate the accumulation of deleterious mutations by genetic hitchhiking. These findings show that genes enhancing sexual attractiveness may be associated with pleiotropic costs or heavy mutational loads.     

MHC polymorphism pre-dating speciation

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.     

Divergent sexual selection enhances reproductive isolation in sticklebacks

Sexual selection may facilitate speciation because it can cause rapid evolutionary diversification of male mating signals and female preferences. Divergence in these traits can then contribute to reproductive isolation. The sensory drive hypothesis predicts that three mechanisms underlie divergence in sexually selected traits: (1) habitat-specific transmission of male signals; (2) adaptation of female perceptual sensitivity to local ecological conditions; and (3) matching of male signals to female perceptual sensitivity. I test these mechanisms in threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus spp.) that live in different light environments. Here I show that female perceptual sensitivity to red light varies with the extent of redshift in the light environment, and contributes to divergent preferences. Male nuptial colour varies with environment and is tuned to female perceptual sensitivity. The extent of divergence among populations in both male signal colour and female preference for red is correlated with the extent of reproductive isolation in these recently diverged species. These results demonstrate that divergent sexual selection generated by sensory drive contributes to speciation.     

Female mating bias results in conflicting sex-specific offspring fitness

Indirect-benefit models of sexual selection assert that females gain heritable offspring advantages through a mating bias for males of superior genetic quality. This has generally been tested by associating a simple morphological quality indicator (for example, bird tail length) with offspring viability. However, selection acts simultaneously on many characters, limiting the ability to detect significant associations, especially if the simple indicator is weakly correlated to male fitness. Furthermore, recent conceptual developments suggest that the benefits gained from such mating biases may be sex-specific because of sexually antagonistic genes that differentially influence male and female reproductive ability. A more suitable test of the indirect-benefit model would examine associations between an aggregate quality indicator (such as male mating success) and gender-specific adult fitness components, under the expectation that these components may trade off. Here, we show that a father's mating success in the cricket, Allonemobius socius, is positively genetically correlated with his son's mating success but negatively with his daughter's reproductive success. This provides empirical evidence that a female mating bias can result in sexually antagonistic offspring fitness.     

Sexually antagonistic genetic variation for fitness in red deer

Evolutionary theory predicts the depletion of genetic variation in natural populations as a result of the effects of selection, but genetic variation is nevertheless abundant for many traits that are under directional or stabilizing selection. Evolutionary geneticists commonly try to explain this paradox with mechanisms that lead to a balance between mutation and selection. However, theoretical predictions of equilibrium genetic variance under mutation-selection balance are usually lower than the observed values, and the reason for this is unknown. The potential role of sexually antagonistic selection in maintaining genetic variation has received little attention in this debate, surprisingly given its potential ubiquity in dioecious organisms. At fitness-related loci, a given genotype may be selected in opposite directions in the two sexes. Such sexually antagonistic selection will reduce the otherwise-expected positive genetic correlation between male and female fitness. Both theory and experimental data suggest that males and females of the same species may have divergent genetic optima, but supporting data from wild populations are still scarce. Here we present evidence for sexually antagonistic fitness variation in a natural population, using data from a long-term study of red deer (Cervus elaphus). We show that male red deer with relatively high fitness fathered, on average, daughters with relatively low fitness. This was due to a negative genetic correlation between estimates of fitness in males and females. In particular, we show that selection favours males that carry low breeding values for female fitness. Our results demonstrate that sexually antagonistic selection can lead to a trade-off between the optimal genotypes for males and females; this mechanism will have profound effects on the operation of selection and the maintenance of genetic variation in natural populations.     

Communal nesting patterns in mice implicate MHC genes in kin recognition.

House mice (Mus musculus domesticus) form communal nests and appear to nurse each other's pups indiscriminately. Communal nesting probably functions to reduce infanticide, but it also makes females vulnerable to exploitation if nursing partners fail to provide their fair share of care. Kinship theory predicts that females will preferentially form communal nests with relatives to minimize exploitation and further increase inclusive fitness. Here we provide evidence from seminatural populations that females prefer communal nesting partners that share allelic forms of major histocompatibility complex genes. Such behaviour would lead to the selection of close relatives as communal nesting partners. Although criteria for the demonstration of kin recognition are currently embroiled in controversy, this is the first vertebrate study to meet Grafen's restrictive requirements: discrimination is based on genetic similarity at highly polymorphic loci, incidental correlations due to relatedness are experimentally controlled, and strong reasons exist for expecting the assayed behaviour to be kin-selected.     

Polymorphism of human Ia antigens generated by reciprocal intergenic exchange between two DR beta loci

Class II molecules encoded by the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are involved in regulating T-cell response to antigens. The mechanisms for generating polymorphism in products of the MHC have been studied extensively for both the murine H-2 and the human HLA complex. Such studies indicate that point mutations plus selection have a major role in the generation of polymorphisms of class I and class II MHC genes. However, a non-reciprocal gene conversion mechanism has been proposed to explain several examples of clustered sequence variation in MHC genes. In all these examples, the proposed gene conversion event is unidirectional; that is, one of the two interacting genes acts as sequence donor and the other as sequence recipient. No examples of potential reciprocal genetic exchange (as occurs in the fungal system), in which the two interacting genes act as both donor and recipient of gene fragments, have been found in the MHC system or in other multigene families of higher organisms. We sequenced two different HLA-DR beta complementary DNAs from each of two different cells all expressing the same serologically defined determinant (DR2) but different T-cell-recognized (Dw) specificities (Dw12 and MN2). Sequence comparisons of these four cDNA clones (and two DR beta amino-acid sequences from the DR2-Dw2 subtype) suggest that new coding sequences for DR beta molecules in the DR2 haplotypes are potentially generated by reciprocal intergenic exchange.     

Genetic mechanisms of floral trait correlations in a natural population

Genetic correlations among traits are important in evolution, as they can constrain evolutionary change or reflect past selection for combinations of traits. Constraints and integration depend on whether the correlations are caused by pleiotropy or linkage disequilibrium, but these genetic mechanisms underlying correlations remain largely unknown in natural populations. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping studies do not adequately address the mechanisms of within-population genetic correlations because they rely on crosses between distinct species, inbred lines or selected lines (see ref. 5), and they cannot distinguish moderate linkage disequilibrium from pleiotropy because they commonly rely on only one or two episodes of recombination. Here I report that after nine generations of enforced random mating (nine episodes of recombination), correlations between six floral traits in wild radish plants are unchanged, showing that pleiotropy generates the correlations. There is no evidence for linkage disequilibrium despite previous correlational selection acting on one functionally integrated pair of traits. This study provides direct evidence of the genetic mechanisms underlying correlations between quantitative traits in a natural population and suggests that there may be constraints on the independent evolution of pairs of highly correlated traits.     

基于mtDNA COI序列的福建B型烟粉虱田间种群分析

本研究对福建B型烟粉虱10个田间种群的线粒体DNA COI基因(mtDNA COI)进行测序,并通过与NCBI数据库上埃及、湖北、武汉3个B型烟粉虱地理种群的mtDNA COI的序列进行比对分析,结果表明在核苷酸多样性、单倍型数、单倍型多样度上,不同地理种群都不一样,但是福建种群这些遗传特征数据显著高于其它地理种群.结合近年来我省田间烟粉虱种群抗药性水平迅速提高这一结果分析,可以推测,在不同杀虫剂压力选择下,不同抗性基因得以在我省不同地理群体中流动,种群内呈现比较明显的抗性遗传分化趋势,群体遗传多样性也更为丰富,表现出烟粉虱对不利环境较强的适应能力.     

陈山红心杉1.5代种子园遗传多样性和子代父本分析

【目的】陈山红心杉是江西特有的杉木优良种源,其近髓心的木质部为高比例的油亮栗褐色,是工艺建筑和室内装潢极为宝贵的天然材料。对陈山红心杉1.5代种子园进行遗传多样性和子代父本分析,为红心杉种子园的管理提供科学依据。【方法】以江西省青原区白云山林场陈山红心杉1.5代种子园及其子代测定林为研究材料,利用12对SSR引物,对种子园32个亲本及14个无性系的459个子代进行遗传多样性和父本分析。【结果】各引物在亲本群体中检测到等位基因数(N_a)为3~7,平均为4.41个;引物在子代群体中检测到的等位基因数(N_a)为4~11,平均为6.50个,较亲本群体高2.09个。亲本群体的平均有效等位基因数(N_e)为2.330,子代群体的平均有效等位基因数为2.306。子代群体包含亲本群体所有的等位基因,并检测到25个子代特有的等位基因。子代群体的Shannon’s信息指数(I)=1.004高于亲本群体的0.992,说明子代群体的遗传多样性略高于亲本群体。子代群体和亲本群体的观测杂合度(H_o)分别为0.525和 0.571,表明子代群体中杂合单株的比例较亲本有所下降。种子园的多位点异交率(t_m)是1.012,单位点异交率(t_s)为0.991,说明种子园异交率较高。双亲近交系数(t_m-t_s)为0.021,表明种子园无性系间近交水平比较低。种子园的有效花粉供体数目(N_ep)为7.81。种子园的多位点父本相关性[R_p(m)]和单位点父本相关性[R_p(s)]分别为0.128和-0.016,单位点和多位点父本相关性的差值R_p(s)-R_p(m)=-0.144<0,表明亲本间没有明显的近亲关系。家系间的多位点异交率(t_m)变化幅度为0.938~1.200,有10个家系的多位点异交率(t_m)大于0。家系间近交系数(t_m-t_s)变化幅度为-0.127~0.150,9个家系的近交系数大于零,说明这些家系存在近交现象。通过父本分析,在80%的置信水平下确定了325个子代的父本来源,占分析子代总数的70.8%。子代的亲本均不是同一无性系,说明种子园无自交现象。各家系子代确定父本的比率不一致,41号家系子代确定父本的比率最高,为93.9%,其余家系子代确定父本比率为54.3%~90.9%。8号家系确定父本的30个子代中,16个子代的父本为同一无性系,占家系子代总数的53.3%;12号家系确定父本的26个子代中,12个子代的父本为同一无性系,占家系子代总数的46.2%,说明无性系间授粉亲和性不同。种子园存在非随机交配现象,在32个潜在无性系中,有26个无性系提供了有效花粉,其中父本贡献率最高的是22号和29号无性系,各为33个子代提供了花粉,其贡献率均为10.2%,其他无性系的父本贡献率为0.3%~8.9%。父本贡献率最高的前11个无性系共计产生了70.2%的子代。【结论】陈山红心杉1.5代种子园遗传多样性丰富,子代保持了亲代的遗传多样性水平;种子园异交率较高,部分家系存在低水平的近交;子代父本分析表明,种子园无自交现象,无性系间授粉亲和性不同,父本贡献率不均等。     

Identification of two genes causing reinforcement in the Texas wildflower Phlox drummondii

Species formation generates biological diversity and occurs when traits evolve that prevent gene flow between populations. Discerning the number and distribution of genes underlying these traits and, in a few cases, identifying the genes involved, has greatly enhanced our understanding over the past 15 years of species formation (reviewed by Noor and Feder and Wolf et al.). However, this work has almost exclusively focused on traits that restrict gene flow between populations that have evolved as a by-product of genetic divergence between geographically isolated populations. By contrast, little is known about the characteristics of genes associated with reinforcement, the process by which natural selection directly favours restricted gene flow during the formation of species. Here we identify changes in two genes that appear to cause a flower colour change in Phlox drummondii, which previous work has shown contributes to reinforcement. Both changes involve cis-regulatory mutations to genes in the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway (ABP). Because one change is recessive whereas the other is dominant, hybrid offspring produce an intermediate flower colour that is visited less by pollinators, and is presumably maladaptive. Thus genetic change selected to increase prezygotic isolation also appears to result in increased postzygotic isolation.