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MHC class II supertypes affect survival and lifetime reproductive success in a migratory songbird
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  • David Canal,
  • Jacob Roved,
  • Antonio Lara Rodríguez,
  • Carlos Camacho,
  • Jaime Potti,
  • Simone Santoro
David Canal
Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre for Ecological Research Institute of Ecology and Botany and National Botanical Garden

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Jacob Roved
Lund University
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Antonio Lara Rodríguez
Estación Biológica de Doñana
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Carlos Camacho
Pyrenean Institute of Ecology
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Jaime Potti
Estacion Biologica de Donana CSIC
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Simone Santoro
Universidad de Huelva Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales
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Abstract

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a critical role in the immune response against pathogens. Its high polymorphism is thought to be mainly the consequence of host-pathogen co-evolution, but elucidating the mechanism(s) driving MHC evolution remains challenging for natural populations. We investigated the diversity of MHC class II genes in a wild population of pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca, and tested its associations with two key components of individual fitness: lifetime reproductive success and survival. Among 180 breeding adults in our study population, we found 182 unique MHC class II exon 2 alleles. The alleles showed a strong signal of positive selection and grouped into 9 functional supertypes based on physicochemical properties at the inferred antigen-binding sites. Three supertypes were found in > 98% of the sampled individuals, indicating that they are nearly fixed in the population. We found no rare supertypes in the population, as all supertypes were present in >70% of individuals. Three supertypes were related to different components of individual fitness: two were associated with lower offspring production over time, while the third was positively associated with survival. Overall, the substantial allelic and functional diversity and the relationship between specific supertypes and fitness is in accordance with the notion that balancing selection maintains MHC class II diversity in the study population, possibly with fluctuating selection as the underlying mechanism. The absence of rare supertypes in the population suggests that the balancing selection is not driven by rare-allele advantage.
31 Jul 2024Submitted to Molecular Ecology
01 Aug 2024Submission Checks Completed
01 Aug 2024Assigned to Editor
01 Aug 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
01 Aug 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned
27 Aug 2024Editorial Decision: Accept