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Isolation of major histocompatibility complex Class I genes from the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii)

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Abstract

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays an essential role in the adaptive immune system of vertebrates through antigen recognition. Although MHC genes are found in all vertebrates, the MHC region is dynamic and has changed throughout vertebrate evolution, making it an important tool for comparative genomics. Marsupials occupy an important position in mammalian phylogeny, yet the MHC of few marsupials has been studied in detail. We report the isolation and analysis of expressed MHC Class I genes from the tammar wallaby, a model marsupial used extensively for the study of mammalian reproduction, genetics, and immunology. We determined that there are at least 11 Class I loci in the tammar genome and isolated six expressed Class I sequences from spleen and testes cDNA libraries, representing at least four loci. Two of the Class I sequences contain substitutions at sites known to be important for antigen binding, perhaps impacting their ability to bind peptides, or the types of peptide to which they bind. Phylogenetic analysis of tammar wallaby Class I sequences and other mammalian Class I sequences suggests that some tammar wallaby and red-necked wallaby loci evolved from common ancestral genes.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Teena Browning (Macquarie University) for providing a tammar wallaby Class I probe, Ming Ji (University of New Mexico) for assisting with library screening, Dr Rebecca Johnson (Australian Museum) for sequencing, and Nishen Naidoo (Macquarie University) for assisting in sequence analysis. This project was funded by the University of Sydney and Australian Research Council (to KB) and the NIH Institute Development Award Program of the National Centre for Research Resources (M.L.B and R.D.M). Hannah Siddle is supported by a University of Sydney Postgraduate Award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Advanced Technologies in Animal Genetics and Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Hannah V. Siddle & Katherine Belov

  2. ARC Centre for Kangaroo Genomics, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Janine E. Deakin

  3. Department of Biology, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA

    Michelle L. Baker & Robert D. Miller

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  1. Hannah V. Siddle
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  2. Janine E. Deakin
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  3. Michelle L. Baker
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  4. Robert D. Miller
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  5. Katherine Belov
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Correspondence to Katherine Belov.

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Siddle, H.V., Deakin, J.E., Baker, M.L. et al. Isolation of major histocompatibility complex Class I genes from the tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii). Immunogenetics 58, 487–493 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-006-0107-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-006-0107-4

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