Nucleotide sequences of chimpanzee MHC class I alleles: evidence for trans-species mode of evolution.
To obtain an insight into the evolutionary origin of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I polymorphism, a cDNA library was prepared from a heterozygous chimpanzee cell line expressing MHC class I molecules crossreacting with allele-specific HLA-A11 antibodies. The library was screened with human class I locus-specific DNA probes, and clones encoding both alleles at the A and B loci have been identified and sequenced. In addition, the sequences of two HLA-A11 subtypes differing by a single nucleotide substitution have been obtained. The comparison of chimpanzee and human sequences revealed a close similarity (up to 98.5%). The chimpanzee A locus alleles showed greatest similarity to the human HLA-A11/A3 family of alleles, one of them being very close to HLA-A11. Similarly, segments of the ChLA-B alleles displayed greatest similarity to certain HLA-B alleles. The calculated evolutionary branch point for the A11-like alleles is 7 x 10(6) to 9 x 10(6) years, whereas the other A locus alleles diverged between 12 x 10(6) and 17 x 10(6) years ago. Since the human and chimpanzee lineages separated 5 x 10(6) to 7 x 10(6) years ago, our data support the notion that during evolution, MHC alleles are transmitted from one species to the next.
Mayer
W E
WE
Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie, Abteilung Immunogenetik, Tübingen, FRG.
Jonker
M
M
Klein
D
D
Ivanyi
P
P
van Seventer
G
G
Klein
J
J
D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D015342:DNA Probes; D005805:Genes, MHC Class I; D015234:HLA-A Antigens / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D059870:HLA-A11 Antigen; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D002679:Pan troglodytes; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics
D015342:DNA Probes; D015234:HLA-A Antigens; D059870:HLA-A11 Antigen; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA