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Low MHC variation in the endangered Galápagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus)

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Abstract

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is one of the most polymorphic regions of the genome, likely due to balancing selection acting to maintain alleles over time. Lack of MHC variability has been attributed to factors such as genetic drift in small populations and relaxed selection pressure. The Galápagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus), endemic to the Galápagos Islands, is the only penguin that occurs on the equator. It relies upon cold, nutrient-rich upwellings and experiences severe population declines when ocean temperatures rise during El Niño events. These bottlenecks, occurring in an already small population, have likely resulted in reduced genetic diversity in this species. In this study, we used MHC class II exon 2 sequence data from a DRB1-like gene to characterize the amount of genetic variation at the MHC in 30 Galápagos penguins, as well as one Magellanic penguin (S. magellanicus) and two king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus), and compared it to that in five other penguin species for which published data exist. We found that the Galápagos penguin had the lowest MHC diversity (as measured by number of polymorphic sites and average divergence among alleles) of the eight penguin species studied. A phylogenetic analysis showed that Galápagos penguin MHC sequences are most closely related to Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) sequences, its putative sister species based on other loci. An excess of non-synonymous mutations and a pattern of trans-specific evolution in the neighbor-joining tree suggest that selection is acting on the penguin MHC.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the people who collected the samples used in this study: C. Duffie, N. Gottdenker, G. Jímenez Uzcátegui, J. Merkel, C. Larrea, and E. Travis. We would also like to thank the Galápagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation for allowing us to do this work and for their support in the field. Michael Macek and Anne Tieber at the Saint Louis Zoo provided the Magellanic and king penguin samples. Funds for this project were provided by the Saint Louis Zoo Field Research for Conservation Program, the Des Lee Collaborative Vision in Zoological Research, D. Swarovski & Co., and the American Ornithologists’ Union. For help with the laboratory work, we are grateful to B. Nims, K. Matson, and especially K. Halbert.

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  1. F. Hernán Vargas

    Present address: The Peregrine Fund/Fondo Peregrino Panamá Apdo, 0844-00230, Panamá City, República de Panamá

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Jennifer L. Bollmer & Patricia G. Parker

  2. Charles Darwin Foundation, Isla Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador

    F. Hernán Vargas

  3. Department of Zoology, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    F. Hernán Vargas

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  1. Jennifer L. Bollmer
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Correspondence to Jennifer L. Bollmer.

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Bollmer, J.L., Vargas, F.H. & Parker, P.G. Low MHC variation in the endangered Galápagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus). Immunogenetics 59, 593–602 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-007-0221-y

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