Number of MHC alleles is related to parasite loads in natural populations of yellow necked mice, Apodemus flavicollis

Meyer-Lucht, YvonneLeibniz-Institute for Zoo- and Wildlife Research (författare)

Hypothesis: Low levels of immune gene variation (major histocompatibility complex) in it Population arc associated with increased parasite load and infection Intensity. Organism: Different Populations of the yellow necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis). a common rodent in European deciduous and mixed forest habitats Methods: We assessed genetic diversity at selectively neutral, non-coding markers (microsatellites) and adaptive genetic variation at a functionally important part of the immune complex MHC (major histocompatibility complex). We investigated the load with gastrointestinal parasites non-invasively by faecal egg counts and assessed the influence of population genetic variation on parasite burden Results: Both neutral and adaptive genetic diversity differed between mice populations. We could not detect an effect of neutral genetic diversity on the parasite burden in a population Heterozygosity at the MFIC did not reveal an effect on the parasite burden either. However, we did identify significant effects of the number of different MHC alleles in a population oil parasite burden Mice populations with a large number of different MHC alleles displayed lower parasite loads than those populations with few different MHC alleles

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