No evidence of an MHC-based female mating preference in great reed warblers.
Female mate-choice based on genetic compatibility is an area of growing interest. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are likely candidates for such mate-choice since these highly polymorphic genes may both increase offspring viability and also provide direct cues for mate-choice. In great reed warblers, females actively choose a breeding partner out of a handful of males that they visit and evaluate; thus, female preference for compatible or heterozygous MHC genes could have evolved. Here, I investigate whether great reed warbler females preferentially mate with males with dissimilar MHC class I alleles or with males that are heterozygous at MHC class I. Despite favourable conditions, a thorough screening method and a large sample size, there was no evidence of an MHC-based female mating preference based on either genetic compatibility or heterozygosity in this population. Power analyses of the data sets revealed that relatively small differences (15% and 8%, respectively) between true and random pairs should have been detected.
Westerdahl
Helena
H
Department of Animal Ecology, Ecology Building, Lund University, S-223 62 Lund, Sweden. Helena.Westerdahl@zooekol.lu.se
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D017931:DNA Primers; D004586:Electrophoresis; D005260:Female; D005805:Genes, MHC Class I / Q000235:genetics*; D006580:Genetic Carrier Screening; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D020308:Songbirds / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D013548:Sweden
D017931:DNA Primers