Highlights
Individuals vary in their resistance to infectious disease
As such, discovering genes associated with pathogen resistance in natural populations has the potential to enable the identification of at-risk individuals or groups, to uncover novel mechanisms associated with infectious disease susceptibility or pathogenesis, and to help uncover the genetic basis of sexual selection in natural populations [4,11]
Twin aims of this study were, first, to expand research on wildlife immunogenetics away from concentrating solely on the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), and second, to transfer the broader research conducted on laboratory species into the more ecologically valid arena of natural populations
Summary
Individuals vary in their resistance to infectious disease Much of this variation is genetic and, in natural populations, considerable attention has focussed on the potential for pathogens to act as a selective force on genetic diversity [1,2]. A large body of literature identifies numerous loci associated with resistance to specific pathogens in humans and domestic livestock [5,6,7,8] This has obvious applied importance in establishing the genetic basis of variation in pathogen susceptibility, identifying individuals most vulnerable to infection and in determining novel molecular mechanisms of resistance. As such, discovering genes associated with pathogen resistance in natural populations has the potential to enable the identification of at-risk individuals or groups, to uncover novel mechanisms associated with infectious disease susceptibility or pathogenesis, and to help uncover the genetic basis of sexual selection in natural populations [4,11]
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