MHC-I diversity enables rapid adaptation during a viral pandemic in wild rabbit populations
Abstract
Emerging diseases can have devastating consequences for wild species, with long-term effects depending on the ability of the host to evolve resistance. Here, we show that major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes provided standing genetic variation that enabled rabbits to mount a rapid evolutionary response to the myxoma virus pandemic that began in the 1950s. Using historical and modern specimens starting in 1865 and spanning the pandemic, we found strong parallel shifts in MHC-I allele frequencies across Australia, Britain, and France, alongside population-specific signals. These evolutionary shifts are predicted to alter the peptides presented to T cells. Our results provide evidence that MHC-I is under strong selection in natural populations during a pandemic and that the high polymorphism of MHC may have contributed to the recovery of these populations.
Article Details
Journal Info
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences
Authors (10)
Yexin Zhang
Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge
Jonathan P. Day
Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge
Marina Lirintzi
Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge
Jiayi Ji
Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London
Clive A. Tregaskes
Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge
Miguel Carneiro
CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO, Research Network in Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Universidade do Porto
Joel M. Alves
The Palaeogenomics and Bio-Archaeology Research Network, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford
Tanja Strive
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Health and Biosecurity Business Unit, Acton
Jim Kaufman
Institute for Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh
Francis M. Jiggins
Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge