Abstract
Across species, diversity at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is critical to individual disease resistance and, hence, to population health; however, MHC diversity can be reduced in small, fragmented, or isolated populations. Given the need for comparative studies of functional genetic diversity, we investigated whether MHC diversity differs between populations which are open, that is experiencing gene flow, versus populations which are closed, that is isolated from other populations. Using the endangered ring‐tailed lemur (Lemur catta) as a model, we compared two populations under long‐term study: a relatively “open,” wild population (n = 180) derived from Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar (2003–2013) and a “closed,” captive population (n = 121) derived from the Duke Lemur Center (DLC, 1980–2013) and from the Indianapolis and Cincinnati Zoos (2012). For all animals, we assessed MHC‐DRB diversity and, across populations, we compared the number of unique MHC‐DRB alleles and their distributions. Wild individuals possessed more MHC‐DRB alleles than did captive individuals, and overall, the wild population had more unique MHC‐DRB alleles that were more evenly distributed than did the captive population. Despite management efforts to maintain or increase genetic diversity in the DLC population, MHC diversity remained static from 1980 to 2010. Since 2010, however, captive‐breeding efforts resulted in the MHC diversity of offspring increasing to a level commensurate with that found in wild individuals. Therefore, loss of genetic diversity in lemurs, owing to small founder populations or reduced gene flow, can be mitigated by managed breeding efforts. Quantifying MHC diversity within individuals and between populations is the necessary first step to identifying potential improvements to captive management and conservation plans.
Highlights
In taxa as diverse as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, diversity and/or the specific alleles present at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) have become important measures of genetic health
In testing for differences in MHC-DRB diversity between wild and captive populations of ring-tailed lemurs, we found that wild individuals were significantly more diverse than were captive individuals (Figure 2)
In a comparison of two populations of ring-tailed lemurs, both individual-and population-level MHC-DRB diversity were greater in wild animals than in captive animals
Summary
In taxa as diverse as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, diversity and/or the specific alleles present at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) have become important measures of genetic health. Polymorphism at MHC loci has been linked to many proxy measures of quality (e.g., disease resistance, ornamentation, life span) or fitness (e.g., mating success, offspring production) in individuals, populations, and species (Bernatchez & Landry, 2003; Sommer, 2005). For conservation biologists, these measures reflect the potential for adaptation to emerging zoonosis, habitat fragmentation, and climate change (Ujvari & Belov, 2011). We used previously published microsatellite data to assess the relationship between nHo and functional genetic diversity (or MHC-DRB diversity: Charpentier et al, 2008; Grogan, McGinnis, Sauther, Cuozzo, & Drea, 2016; Pastorini et al, 2015), as well as to estimate effective population sizes
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