Abstract
BackgroundWe investigated genetic variation of a major histcompatibility complex (MHC) pseudogene (Anvi-DAB1) in the little greenbul (Andropadus virens) from four localities in Cameroon and one in Ivory Coast, West Africa. Previous microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA analyses had revealed little or no genetic differentiation among Cameroon localities but significant differentiation between localities in Cameroon and Ivory Coast.ResultsLevels of genetic variation, heterozygosity, and allelic diversity were high for the MHC pseudogene in Cameroon. Nucleotide diversity of the MHC pseudogene in Cameroon and Ivory Coast was comparable to levels observed in other avian species that have been studied for variation in nuclear genes. An excess of rare variants for the MHC pseudogene was found in the Cameroon population, but this excess was not statistically significant. Pairwise measures of population differentiation revealed high divergence between Cameroon and Ivory Coast for microsatellites and the MHC locus, although for the latter distance measures were much higher than the comparable microsatellite distances.ConclusionWe provide the first ever comparison of variation in a putative MHC pseudogene to variation in neutral loci in a passerine bird. Our results are consistence with the action of neutral processes on the pseudogene and suggest they can provide an independent perspective on demographic history and population substructure.
Highlights
We investigated genetic variation of a major histcompatibility complex (MHC) pseudogene (Anvi-DAB1) in the little greenbul (Andropadus virens) from four localities in Cameroon and one in Ivory Coast, West Africa
We have shown that measures of population differentiation for a MHC pseudogene, Anvi-DAB1, are not significantly differently different from those of six unlinked
A high degree of differentiation for the Anvi-DAB1 pseudogene as measured by FST was found between sites in Cameroon and Ivory Coast, a result that has been previously found in studies that utilized microsatellite loci [22], and mitochondrial DNA [23]
Summary
We investigated genetic variation of a major histcompatibility complex (MHC) pseudogene (Anvi-DAB1) in the little greenbul (Andropadus virens) from four localities in Cameroon and one in Ivory Coast, West Africa. Portrayed as the paradigm of neutral evolution [1], pseudogenes are thought be free of selective forces that constrain functional genes and this single feature should make pseudogenes highly attractive for population genetic studies. Pseudogenes may be more appealing than introns for population genetic studies, as introns may be closely linked to functional gene regions [2] and may often be under the influence of selection [3]. Though pseudogenes have been the focus of molecular evolutionary studies at the species level, there is a paucity of research that utilizes them for analysis of populations [see [4,5]]. Levels of population differentiation and variability depend on the type of molecular marker used.
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