title: Genetic variation within exon 2 of the MHC B-LB // gene in Tibetan chicken.
abstract: Genetic variation within exon 2 of chicken major histocompatibility complex B-LB // genes was investigated by PCR amplification, cloning and sequencing of a 374 bp fragment of the indigenous Tibetan chicken genomic DNA. Fifteen novel B-LB // alleles were found. Alignment and comparison of 18 allelic sequences from the individuals sampled revealed a total of 62 variable sites (total of 80 mutations) in exon 2, of which 41 were parsimony informative sites. The nucleotide diversity (pi) within the sequence of exon 2 was calculated to be 0.0718. Analysis of nucleotide variation confirmed a lower level of divergence (0.056 +/- 0.008) as estimated by average pairwise distance within the Tibetan chicken population than the five exotic breeds detected. The relative frequencies of synonymous and non-synonymous nucleotide substitutions within the region were 3.25 +/- 0.94% and 15.61 +/- 2.69% , respectively. These results indicated that the genetic variation within exon 2 seemed to have arisen largely by gene recombination and balancing selection. Alignment of the deduced amino acid sequences of beta1 domain coded by exon 2 revealed 11 synonymous mutations and 27 non-synonymous substitutions at the 38 separate sites. Fifty percent (12/24) of the proposed peptide-binding sites were variable within beta1 domain of chicken MHC B-LB // molecules, of which 11 were unique non-synonymous amino acid substitutions. These particular non-synonymous substitutions are considered to be associated with immunological specificity of MHC B-LB // molecule in Tibetan chicken, and they can provide a molecular biological basis for the study of disease resistance in chicken.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Animal Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China. rufusxu@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Ri-Fu
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Kui
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Guo-Hong
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yangzong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qiangba
authors.forename: Yu-Bo
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Bang
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics*; D002681:China; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex / Q000235:genetics*