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Diversity of MHC class I alleles in Spheniscus humboldti

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Abstract

The major histocompatibility complex locus (MHC) is a gene region related to immune response and exhibits a remarkably great diversity. We deduced that polymorphisms in MHC genes would help to solve several issues on penguins, including classification, phylogenetic relationship, and conservation. This study aimed to elucidate the structure and diversity of the so far unknown MHC class I gene in a penguin species. The structure of an MHC class I gene from the Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) was determined by using an inverse PCR method. We designed PCR primers to directly determine nucleotide sequences of PCR products from the MHC class I gene and to obtain recombinant clones for investigating the diversity of the MHC class I gene in Humboldt penguins. A total of 24 MHC class I allele sequences were obtained from 40 individuals. Polymorphisms were mainly found in exons 2 and 3, as expected from the nature of MHC class I genes in vertebrate species including birds and mammals. Phylogenetic analyses of MHC class I alleles have revealed that the Humboldt penguin is closely related to the Red Knot (Calidris canutus) belonging to Charadriiformes.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the Japan Association of Zoological Gardens and Aquariums (JAZGA) and Mr. Michio Fukuda (Tokyo Sea Life Park, Tokyo, Japan) and Mr. Masanori Kurita (Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium, Nagoya, Japan) for providing us with the precious penguin samples. We would like to thank Dr. Kazuyoshi Hosomichi and Dr. Hidetoshi Inoko for their contributions in the initial course of this study. We also thank Ms. Nana Okubo, technician, Office for Gender Equality and Work-Life balance, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, for her technical assistance. This work was supported in part by program for women researchers from the Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan, in 2015 and 2016.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan

    Eri Kikkawa & Koichi Murata

  2. Department of Molecular Pathogenesis, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU), Tokyo, Japan

    Eri Kikkawa, Taeko K. Naruse & Akinori Kimura

  3. Division of Basic Medical Science and Molecular Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara, Japan

    Masafumi Tanaka, Tomi T. Tsuda & Michio Tsuda

  4. Human Life Science, Tokushima Bunri University, Tokushima, Japan

    Tomi T. Tsuda

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  1. Eri Kikkawa
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  2. Masafumi Tanaka
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  3. Taeko K. Naruse
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  4. Tomi T. Tsuda
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  5. Michio Tsuda
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  6. Koichi Murata
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  7. Akinori Kimura
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Correspondence to Taeko K. Naruse or Akinori Kimura.

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Kikkawa, E., Tanaka, M., Naruse, T.K. et al. Diversity of MHC class I alleles in Spheniscus humboldti . Immunogenetics 69, 113–124 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-016-0951-9

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