TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schwensow, Nina
A1  - Mazzoni, Camila J.
A1  - Marmesat, Elena
A1  - Fickel, Jörns
A1  - Peacock, David
A1  - Kovaliski, John
A1  - Sinclair, Ron
A1  - Cassey, Phillip
A1  - Cooke, Brian
A1  - Sommer, Simone
T1  - High adaptive variability and virus-driven selection on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes in invasive wild rabbits in Australia
JF  - Biological invasions : unique international journal uniting scientists in the broad field of biological invasions
N2  - The rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) was imported into Australia in 1995 as a biocontrol agent to manage one of the most successful and devastating invasive species, the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus cuniculus). During the first disease outbreaks, RHDV caused mortality rates of up to 97% and reduced Australian rabbit numbers to very low levels. However, recently increased genetic resistance to RHDV and strong population growth has been reported. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I immune genes are important for immune responses against viruses, and a high MHC variability is thought to be crucial in adaptive processes under pathogen-driven selection. We asked whether strong population bottlenecks and presumed genetic drift would have led to low MHC variability in wild Australian rabbits, and if the retained MHC variability was enough to explain the increased resistance against RHD. Despite the past bottlenecks we found a relatively high number of MHC class I sequences distributed over 2-4 loci. We identified positive selection on putative antigen-binding sites of the MHC. We detected evidence for RHDV-driven selection as one MHC supertype was negatively associated with RHD survival, fitting expectations of frequency-dependent selection. Gene duplication and pathogen-driven selection are possible (and likely) mechanisms that maintained the adaptive potential of MHC genes in Australian rabbits. Our findings not only contribute to a better understanding of the evolution of invasive species, they are also important in the light of planned future rabbit biocontrol in Australia.
KW  - Major histocompatibility complex (MHC)
KW  - Australian rabbit invasion
KW  - Rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV)
KW  - Virus-driven selection
KW  - Adaptive genetic variability
Y1  - 2017
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-016-1329-5
SN  - 1387-3547
SN  - 1573-1464
VL  - 19
SP  - 1255
EP  - 1271
PB  - Springer
CY  - Dordrecht
ER  -