DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Immunogene Mediated Mate Choice in Populations of Peromyscus spp. Rodents with Different Mating Systems

论文研究：白鼠属种群中免疫基因介导的配偶选择。

• 批准号: 1502063
• 负责人: Eileen Lacey
• 金额: $ 2.04万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-08-15 至 2017-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1502063&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Immunogene; Mediated; Mate

The fundamental question of how animals choose mates has fascinated and intrigued biologists for centuries. Today, technological and scientific developments make it possible to push the limits of our knowledge in the field of mate choice. Recent research has generated support for a particular group of genes, the Major Histocompatibility Complex, or MHC genes, as key players during mate selection. MHC genes are ubiquitous in vertebrates and play a major role in the adaptive immune system. In mammals, MHC-genotypes, or "profiles," are communicated via urine. This allows conspecifics to identify and choose individuals based on their immunogenetic makeup. Theory predicts that if individuals are selecting mates based on MHC, they should prefer those who complement their own MHC profile. In this way, their offspring will have higher MHC diversity and/or improved immunocompetence. This project explores how differences in two factors thought to affect exposure to pathogens -- mating behavior (e.g., monogamy versus promiscuity) and population density -- influence how animals use MHC during mate choice. Studies on MHC and mate choice have important applications to conservation and captive breeding programs, where they may help determine the best strategies for maintaining diversity and improving survival. Improved understanding of the function and evolution of MHC variation also has important implications for human health, since these are the genes that underlie our adaptive response to pathogens. Traditionally, MHC-based mate choice studies have used inbred lab animals, and while a few have examined wild populations, they have been limited to the study of only a few MHC-loci. These constraints are in large part due to MHC complexity and previously available molecular techniques. As a consequence, studies on different loci and/or species have yielded contradictory results. This project aims to generate a comprehensive understanding of the relationships between immunogenetic variation and patterns of reproductive behavior by using Next Generation Sequencing techniques to study all transcribed MHC and non-MHC immunogenes in free-living peromyscine rodents with different mating systems. Special emphasis is directed towards understanding how immunogenetic variation and selection on immunogenes differ with mating system. Further, this project will explore how changes in ecology, particularly density, influence mate choice decisions based on immunogenes. Understanding how individual-level decisions interact with population level dynamics should facilitate understanding of the selective pressures acting on the immune system in natural settings. The molecular methods proposed are novel and can be applied to a wide range of studies interested in minimizing invasive sampling. Field notes, behavioral observations, trapping data, photographic and GPS data, and biological samples will be contributed to the MVZ collections, thus accessible in an online database and available to interested researchers. All DNA sequence data resulting from this project will be made publicly available after publication through GenBank.

几个世纪以来，动物如何选择伴侣的基本问题使生物学家着迷和感兴趣。如今，技术和科学发展使我们有可能在伴侣选择领域中推动我们知识的局限性。最近的研究为特定基因，主要的组织相容性复合物或MHC基因作为关键参与者提供了支持。 MHC基因在脊椎动物中无处不在，并且在适应性免疫系统中起主要作用。在哺乳动物中，通过尿液传达MHC基因型或“轮廓”。这允许同种特定物根据个人的免疫构成识别和选择个人。理论预测，如果个人根据MHC选择伴侣，他们应该更喜欢那些补充自己的MHC概况的人。这样，他们的后代将具有更高的MHC多样性和/或改善免疫能力。该项目探讨了两个因素的差异如何影响病原体的暴露 - 交配行为（例如一夫一妻制与滥交）和人口密度 - 影响动物在伴侣选择期间如何使用MHC。关于MHC和伴侣选择的研究在保护和圈养育种计划中有重要的应用，在那里它们可以帮助确定维持多样性和改善生存的最佳策略。对MHC变异的功能和演变的理解的提高也对人类健康具有重要意义，因为这些基因是我们对病原体的适应性反应的基础。传统上，基于MHC的伴侣选择研究使用了近交性实验室动物，虽然少数人检查了野生群体，但它们仅限于研究少数MHC-Loci的研究。这些约束很大程度上是由于MHC的复杂性和先前可用的分子技术。结果，对不同基因座和/或物种的研究产生了矛盾的结果。该项目旨在通过使用下一代测序技术来研究与自由生活的peromysscine啮齿动物中的所有转录MHC和非MHC免疫原来研究免疫遗传变异与生殖行为模式之间的关系的全面理解。特殊重点是针对理解免疫发生变化和免疫原生成群体的选择如何随交配系统而异。此外，该项目将探讨生态学的变化，尤其是密度的变化如何影响基于免疫基因的伴侣选择决策。了解个人级别的决策如何与人口水平动态相互作用应促进对自然环境中免疫系统作用的选择性压力的理解。提出的分子方法是新颖的，可以应用于对最小化侵入性采样感兴趣的广泛研究。现场笔记，行为观察，捕获数据，摄影和GPS数据以及生物样本将有助于MVZ收集，因此可以在在线数据库中访问，并可供感兴趣的研究人员使用。该项目产生的所有DNA序列数据将在通过GenBank出版后公开提供。