Abstract
Abstract The MHC is viewed as ancient and polymorphic as result of enduring selection by diverse pathogens. But even now little is known about MHC polymorphism outside of a few mammalian species. There is little evidence as to how this region contributions in resistance to infectious disease. The MHC of the domesticated chicken (Gallus gallus) has long been observed to influence disease resistance. With a significant portion of the G. gallus MHC sequenced it is now possible to begin to examine individual loci in detail. Our studies have provided evidence for three diverse features contributing to G. gallus MHC diversity and polymorphism: 1) It has become clear that chicken natural killer cells distinguish among different MHC class I isoforms. Natural killing of target cells can be stimulated or inhibited by the expression of different MHC class I alleles. So it seems that innate immunity likely contributes to the long-observed association between chicken MHC haplotype and disease. 2) Expression of BG1, a polymorphic MHC inhibitory receptor contributing in MHC-linked resistance to a herpesvirus-induced lymphoma, is modulated in at least one allele by a retroviral insert targeted by endogenous miRNA. 3) By combining trisomy mapping with array Comparative Genomic Hybridization (aCGH) we have been able to assign to chicken chromosome 16 unmapped genomic sequence contigs containing additional genes long posited to be critical in maintaining pathogen selected MHC diversity.
Published Version
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