ArticleProceedings. Biological sciences2016
Chemical composition of preen wax reflects major histocompatibility complex similarity in songbirds.
Article in Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 58 citations in OpenAlex.
- The MHC (Major Histocmpatibility Complex) Exceptional Molecules of Birds and Their Relationship to Diseases.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- No evidence for a role of MHC class II genotype in the chemical encoding of heterozygosity and relatedness in Antarctic fur seals.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Article
- Response to MHC-based olfactory cues in a mate choice context in two species of darter (Percidae: Etheostoma).Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Feather chemicals contain information about the major histocompatibility complex in a highly scented seabird.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2022Article
- House sparrows do not exhibit a preference for the scent of potential partners with different MHC-I diversity and genetic distances.PloS one · 2022Article
- Preen gland microbiota covary with major histocompatibility complex genotype in a songbird.Royal Society open science · 2021Article
- Female-Based Patterns and Social Function in Avian Chemical Communication.Journal of chemical ecology · 2021Review
- Individual Chemical Profiles in the Leach's Storm-Petrel.Journal of chemical ecology · 2020Article
- Association between louse abundance and MHC II supertypes in Galápagos mockingbirds.Parasitology research · 2020Article
- Food stress, but not experimental exposure to mercury, affects songbird preen oil composition.Ecotoxicology (London, England) · 2020Article
- Testing predictions of inclusive fitness theory in inbreeding relatives with biparental care.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2019Article
- Genetic variation at MHC class II loci influences both olfactory signals and scent discrimination in ring-tailed lemurs.BMC evolutionary biology · 2019Article
- "Balancing" balancing selection? Assortative mating at the major histocompatibility complex despite molecular signatures of balancing selection.Ecology and evolution · 2019Article
- Wax Ester Composition of Songbird Preen Oil Varies Seasonally and Differs between Sexes, Ages, and Populations.Journal of chemical ecology · 2019Article
- Endless forms of sexual selection.PeerJ · 2019Article
- Birdsong signals individual diversity at the major histocompatibility complex.Biology letters · 2017Article
- Article
- Chemical composition of preen wax reflects major histocompatibility complex similarity in songbirds.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2016Article
- Volatile fatty acid and aldehyde abundances evolve with behavior and habitat temperature inBehavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral EcologyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In jawed vertebrates, genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) play a key role in immunity by encoding cell-surface proteins that recognize and bind non-self antigens. High variability at MHC suggests that these loci may also function in social signalling such as mate choice and kin recognition. This requires that MHC genotype covaries with some perceptible phenotypic trait. In mammals and fish, MHC is signalled chemically through volatile and non-volatile peptide odour cues, facilitating MHC-dependent mate choice and other behaviours. In birds, despite evidence for MHC-dependent mating, candidate mechanisms for MHC signalling remain largely unexplored. However, feather preen wax has recently been implicated as a potential source of odour cues. We examined whether the chemical composition of preen wax correlates with MHC class IIβ genotypes of wild song sparrows (Melospiza melodia). Pairwise chemical distance reflected amino acid distance at MHC for male-female dyads, although not for same-sex dyads. Chemical diversity did not reflect MHC diversity. We used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to characterize preen wax compounds, and identified four wax esters that best reflect MHC similarity. Provided songbirds can detect variation in preen wax composition, this cue may allow individuals to assess MHC compatibility of potential mates.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.