100 million years of multigene family evolution: origin and evolution of the avian MHC class IIB

Julien Goebel (1) , Marta Promerová (2, 3) , Francesco Bonadonna (4) , Karen Mccoy (5) , Céline Serbielle (6) , Maria Strandh (4) , Glenn Yannic (7) , Reto Burri (8) , Luca Fumagalli (1)

1 UNIL - Université de Lausanne = University of Lausanne
2 Institute of Vertebrate Biology
3 MPI-SHH - Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
4 CEFE - Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive
5 MIVEGEC-EVCO - Evolution of host-microbe communities
6 MIVEGEC - Maladies infectieuses et vecteurs : écologie, génétique, évolution et contrôle
7 LECA - Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine
8 Friedrich-Schiller-Universität = Friedrich Schiller University Jena [Jena, Germany]

Background: Gene duplication has led to a most remarkable adaptation involved in vertebrates' host-pathogen arms-race, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). However, MHC duplication history is as yet poorly understood in non-mammalian vertebrates, including birds. Results: Here, we provide evidence for the evolution of two ancient avian MHC class IIB (MHCIIB) lineages by a duplication event prior to the radiation of all extant birds >100 million years ago, and document the role of concerted evolution in eroding the footprints of the avian MHCIIB duplication history.Results: Here, we provide evidence for the evolution of two ancient avian MHC class IIB (MHCIIB) lineages by a duplication event prior to the radiation of all extant birds >100 million years ago, and document the role of concerted evolution in eroding the footprints of the avian MHCIIB duplication history.Conclusions: Our results suggest that eroded footprints of gene duplication histories may mimic birth-death evolution and that in the avian MHC the presence of the two lineages may have been masked by elevated rates of concerted evolution in several taxa. Through the presence of a range of intermediate evolutionary stages along the homogenizing process of concerted evolution, the avian MHCIIB provides a remarkable illustration of the erosion of multigene family duplication history.

Mots clés: Gene duplication; Concerted evolution; Birth-death evolution; Birds; Gene conversion; Major histocompatibility complex; Recombination

Domaines: Evolution [q-bio.PE]

Julien Goebel, Marta Promerová, Francesco Bonadonna, Karen Mccoy, Céline Serbielle, et al.. 100 million years of multigene family evolution: origin and evolution of the avian MHC class IIB. BMC Genomics, 2017, 18, pp.460. ⟨10.1186/s12864-017-3839-7⟩. ⟨hal-02010930⟩