engleski

Diversity of major histocompatibility complex class II genes in golden jackal (Canis aureus) from Serbia

Golden jackal is a canid species currently distributed throughout the Southeastern, Central and Northern Europe. Serbian population has been growing rapidly since the early 1980s. Previous research was done solely on neutral markers and the results indicated lower genetic variability of the Serbian population. Given the jackals recent expansion, it is important to investigate variability of the adaptive loci in order to explore population’s potential for adaptation. Genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are one of the most polymorphic coding regions of the vertebrate genome. The role of MHC genes is to encode receptors responsible for presentation of antigens to T lymphocytes, which is crucial for specific immune response. DNA was extracted from 36 individuals that were legally shot in northwestern, eastern and southeastern Serbia. MHC class II loci DLA- DRB1, DQA1 and DQB1 were amplified and sequenced. Newly found allele was confirmed by molecular cloning and three-locus haplotypes were assigned to each individual. Analysis revealed four DQA, three DQB and four DRB alleles. Allele DQA1*00101 was found for the first time in golden jackal species, exclusively in one individual and surprisingly, in homozygotic form. Found alleles formed six different three-locus haplotypes. Our results suggest that Serbian jackal population might have a higher MHC diversity than the Croatian population as two additional alleles were detected on DQA locus despite the significantly smaller sample size.

adaptive loci; canid; haplotype; genetic variability; Serbia

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