ArticlePloS one2019
Does MHC heterozygosity influence microbiota form and function?
Article in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 36 citations in OpenAlex.
- MHC class II genes influence the gut microbiota of wild golden snub-nosed monkeys.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- Host immunogenetic variation and gut microbiome functionality in a wild vertebrate population.Microbiome · 2026Article
- Multiscale ecological boundaries and microbial community coalescence in host-associated microbiota.mSphere · 2025Article
- Gut microbiota profiles are associated with different spontaneous cortical activity in healthy older people.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The Role of MHC-II Diversity over Enclosure Design in Gut Microbiota Structuring of Captive Bengal Slow Lorises.Biology · 2025Article
- Review
- Transgressive hybrids as hopeful holobionts.Microbiome · 2025Article
- HLA-CPediatric diabetes · 2025Article
- Female reproductive tract microbiota varies with MHC profile.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Article
- Gene Expression Analysis before and after the Pelvic Flexure in the Epithelium of the Equine Hindgut.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- In sickness and in health: the dynamics of the fruit bat gut microbiota under a bacterial antigen challenge and its association with the immune response.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Article
- Host gene effects on gut microbiota in type 1 diabetes.Biochemical Society transactions · 2022Review
- Immunogenetic variation shapes the gut microbiome in a natural vertebrate population.Microbiome · 2022Article
- Novel strategies to improve chicken performance and welfare by unveiling host-microbiota interactions through hologenomics.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Article
- Comparative Analysis ofVeterinary sciences · 2021Article
- HLA Class II Polymorphisms Modulate Gut Microbiota and Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis Phenotype.ImmunoHorizons · 2021Article
- Multi-omics data integration considerations and study design for biological systems and disease.Molecular omics · 2021Review
- Interplay Between Class II HLA Genotypes and the Microbiome and Immune Phenotypes in Individuals With PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome.JCO precision oncology · 2021Article
- How MHCII signaling promotes benign host-microbiota interactions.PLoS pathogens · 2020Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
MHC molecules are essential for the adaptive immune response, and they are the most polymorphic genetic loci in vertebrates. Extreme genetic variation at these loci is paradoxical given their central importance to host health. Classic models of MHC gene evolution center on antagonistic host-pathogen interactions to promote gene diversification and allelic diversity in host populations. However, all multicellular organisms are persistently colonized by their microbiota that perform essential metabolic functions for their host and protect from infection. Here, we provide data to support the hypothesis that MHC heterozygote advantage (a main force of selection thought to drive MHC gene evolution), may operate by enhancing fitness advantages conferred by the host's microbiome. We utilized fecal 16S rRNA gene sequences and their predicted metagenome datasets collected from multiple MHC congenic homozygote and heterozygote mouse strains to describe the influence of MHC heterozygosity on microbiome form and function. We find that in contrast to homozygosity at MHC loci, MHC heterozygosity promotes functional diversification of the microbiome, enhances microbial network connectivity, and results in enrichment for a variety of microbial functions that are positively associated with host fitness. We demonstrate that taxonomic and functional diversity of the microbiome is positively correlated in MHC heterozygote but not homozygote animals, suggesting that heterozygote microbiomes are more functionally adaptive under similar environmental conditions than homozygote microbiomes. Our data complement previous observations on the role of MHC polymorphism in sculpting microbiota composition, but also provide functional insights into how MHC heterozygosity may enhance host health by modulating microbiome form and function. We also provide evidence to support that MHC heterozygosity limits functional redundancy among commensal microbes and may enhance the metabolic versatility of their microbiome. Results from our analyses yield multiple testable predictions regarding the role of MHC heterozygosity on the microbiome that will help guide future research in the area of MHC-microbiome interactions.
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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.