Abstract
Domestic sheep (Ovis aries) have been an important component of livestock agricultural production for thousands of years. Preserving genetic diversity within livestock populations maintains a capacity to respond to changing environments and rapidly evolving pathogens. MHC genetic diversity can influence immune functionality at individual and population levels. Here, we focus on defining functional MHC class I haplotype diversity in a large cohort of Scottish Blackface sheep pre-selected for high levels of MHC class II DRB1 diversity. Using high-throughput amplicon sequencing with three independent sets of barcoded primers we identified 134 MHC class I transcripts within 38 haplotypes. Haplotypes were identified with between two and six MHC class I genes, plus variable numbers of conserved sequences with very low read frequencies. One or two highly transcribed transcripts dominate each haplotype indicative of two highly polymorphic, classical MHC class I genes. Additional clusters of medium, low, and very low expressed transcripts are described, indicative of lower transcribed classical, non-classical and genes whose function remains to be determined.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e15356 |
Pages (from-to) | 1-22 |
Number of pages | 22 |
Journal | HLA: Immune Response Genetics |
Volume | 103 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 2 Feb 2024 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Feb 2024 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- Humans
- Sheep/genetics
- Animals
- Haplotypes
- Genes, MHC Class I/genetics
- Alleles
- Genes, MHC Class II