Read the full paper here
Summary of study:
- Used PCR/cloning to examine MHC class I (MHC-I) in the 3 Rana species (n = 5 individuals per species)
- We found high MHC-I diversity
- 10, 28 and 22 MHC class I sequences from R. japonica, R.ornativentris, and R. t. tagoi, respectively.
- Evidence of main mechanisms that drive MHC diversity:
- Gene duplication
- Balancing selection
- Recombination
- Evidence of more recent MHC-I gene duplication compared to other frog species, based on low maximum synonymous differences per site (ds).
This study is the springboard for investigating genetic variation at other adaptive loci in Japanese amphibians, which will help to better understand the polygenetic basis of resistance to infectious diseases such as chytridiomycosis.