ArticleBiology letters2020
Avian major histocompatibility complex copy number variation is associated with helminth richness.
Article in Biology letters, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Allelic diversity and selection at the MHC class I and class II in a long-distance migratory shorebird, the Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica).Immunogenetics · 2026Article
- Copy number variation and evolution of MHC class I and II genes in lovebirds (Agapornis, Psittaculidae, Psittaciformes).Heredity · 2026Article
- Correlated evolution of oxidative physiology and MHC-based immunosurveillance in birds.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Article
- Host-associated helminth diversity and microbiome composition contribute to anti-pathogen defences in tropical frogs impacted by forest fragmentation.Royal Society open science · 2024Article
- Article
- Evolutionary trade-off between innate and acquired immune defences in birds.Frontiers in zoology · 2023Article
- Using de novo genome assembly and high-throughput sequencing to characterize the MHC region in a non-model bird, the Eurasian coot.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Polymorphism and varying selection within the MHC class I of four Anas species.Immunogenetics · 2021Article
- Avian blood parasite richness decreases with major histocompatibility complex class I loci number.Biology letters · 2021Article
- Comparison of Karyotypes in Two Hybridizing Passerine Species: Conserved Chromosomal Structure but Divergence in Centromeric Repeats.Frontiers in genetics · 2021Article
- Avian major histocompatibility complex copy number variation is associated with helminth richness.Biology letters · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) play a key role in the adaptive immunity of vertebrates, as they encode receptors responsible for antigen recognition. Evolutionary history of the MHC proceeded through numerous gene duplications, which increase the spectrum of pathogens recognized by individuals. Although pathogen-mediated selection is believed to be a primary driver of MHC expansion over evolutionary times, empirical evidence for this association is virtually lacking. Here, we used an extensive dataset on MHC class II copy number variation in non-passerine birds to test for an evolutionary correlation with helminth parasite richness. As expected, our phylogenetically-informed modelling revealed a positive association between MHC copy number and total helminth richness, even after controlling for a broad spectrum of ecological and life-history traits. Thus, total helminth richness appears to be the most important correlate of MHC copy number, supporting a leading role of pathogen-mediated selection in the evolution of MHC in birds. Our results provide some of the first, although correlative, evidence linking parasitism to interspecific variation in MHC copy number among birds.
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