Major histocompatibility complex genes partly explain early survival in house sparrows

Genes of the Major Histocompatibility Complex in Cattle

House sparrows

Shinichi Nakagawa and Joel Pick introduce what we can learn from house sparrows.

The major histocompatibility complex.

The major histocompatibility complex on the sixth chromosome controls expression of a complex series of cell surface antigens which comprise the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system. These markers, beyond their importance in human organ transplantation, have been demonstrated to occur with an increased prevalence in certain disease states. The group of conditions showing the closest association...

Porcine major histocompatibility complex.

The major histocompatibility complex in swine (swine leucocyte antigen: SLA) is located on chromosome 7 with the class I and class III regions separated by the centromere from the class II region. The overall molecular organisation of the class I and III regions is well known, but further research is needed to establish that of the class II region. Approximately sixty genes have been characteri...

The Evolution of Mating Preferences and Major Histocompatibility Complex Genes.

House mice prefer mates genetically dissimilar at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The highly polymorphic MHC genes control immunological self/nonself recognition; therefore, this mating preference may function to provide "good genes" for an individual's offspring. However, the evidence for MHC-dependent mating preferences is controversial, and its function remains unclear. Here we p...