Abstract
The role the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays in response to exposure to environmental toxins is relatively poorly understood, particularly in comparison to its well-described role in pathogen immunity. We investigated associations between MHC diversity and resistance to brevetoxins in common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). A previous genome-wide association study investigating an apparent difference in harmful algal bloom (HAB) resistance among dolphin populations in the Gulf of Mexico identified genetic variation associated with survival in close genomic proximity to multiple MHC class II loci. Here, we characterized genetic variation at DQA, DQB, DRA, and DRB loci in dolphins from central-west Florida and the Florida Panhandle, including dolphins that died during HABs and dolphins presumed to have survived HAB exposure. We found that DRB and DQB exhibited patterns of genetic differentiation among geographic regions that differed from neutral microsatellite loci. In addition, genetic differentiation at DRB across multiple pairwise comparisons of live and dead dolphins was greater than differentiation observed at neutral loci. Our findings at these MHC loci did not approach the strength of association with survival previously described for a nearby genetic variant. However, the results provide evidence that selective pressures at the MHC vary among dolphin populations that differ in the frequency of HAB exposure and that the overall composition of DRB variants differs between dolphin survivors and non-survivors of HABs. These results may suggest a potential role of MHC diversity in variable survival of bottlenose dolphins exposed to HABs.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank the following for providing samples: the Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, the Mote Marine Laboratory Stranding Investigations Program, and the NOAA SEFSC Marine Mammal Tissue and DNA Archive which provided samples donated by A. Costidis and D. Boyd (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission), B. Balmer and L. Schwacke (NOAA/NCCOS Hollings Marine Lab), and J. Litz (NOAA/NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center). The authors also thank B. Balmer for the information categorizing live dolphins from the Florida Panhandle as coastal or estuarine and I. T. Rodriguez and N. Phillips for the assistance with MHC and microsatellite genotyping. Funding for this work was provided by the PADI Foundation, the American Fisheries Society, the Duke University Marine Lab Kaupe fund, Dolphin Quest, and the Oak Foundation. This manuscript was improved by the thoughtful comments of one anonymous reviewer.
Ethical standards
Samples from live dolphins were collected using protocols approved by the Mote Marine Laboratory Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and a NOAA/NMFS ad hoc IACUC. Samples were collected under the following scientific research permits issued by NMFS: 522–1527, 522–1569, 522–1785, and 15543 issued to RSW and 932–1489 (as amended) issued to the NOAA Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program.
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Cammen, K.M., Wilcox, L.A., Rosel, P.E. et al. From genome-wide to candidate gene: an investigation of variation at the major histocompatibility complex in common bottlenose dolphins exposed to harmful algal blooms. Immunogenetics 67, 125–133 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-014-0818-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-014-0818-x