与其他动物相比,蝌蚪更爱与自己的兄弟姐妹一道玩耍。那么它们究竟是如何选择这些“亲人”的呢?
据美国《科学》杂志在线新闻报道,非洲爪蛙的蝌蚪喜欢与同自己具有相同版本的主要组织相容性复合体(MHC)基因的同胞在一起。研究人员在最近的英国《皇家学会学报B》上报告了这一研究结果。MHC基因对于生物的免疫系统是至关重要的,并且参与了脊椎动物的亲缘认知功能。在这项研究中,研究人员对生活在相同环境中的同胞蝌蚪的基因进行了分析,并发现这些两栖动物能够根据遗传变异识别不同的MHC基因。(来源:科学时报 群芳)
生物谷推荐原始出处:
(Proceedings of The Royal Society B),10.1098/rspb.2008.0022,Jandouwe Villinger, Bruce Waldman
Self-referent MHC type matching in frog tadpoles
Jandouwe Villinger1, Bruce Waldman1
1 School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand
摘要
Self/non-self recognition mechanisms underlie the development, immunology and social behaviour of virtually all living organisms, from bacteria to humans. Indeed, recognition processes lie at the core of how social cooperation evolved. Much evidence suggests that the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) both facilitates nepotistic interactions and promotes inbreeding avoidance. Social discrimination based on MHC differences has been demonstrated in many vertebrates but whether the labels used in discrimination are directly associated with the MHC, rather than with other genes with which it covaries, has remained problematic. Furthermore, effects of familiarity on natural preferences have not been controlled in most previous studies. Here we show that African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) tadpoles discriminate among familiar full siblings based on MHC haplotype differences. Subjects (N=261) from four parental crosses preferred siblings with which they shared MHC haplotypes to those with no MHC haplotypes in common. Using only full siblings in experimental tests, we controlled for genetic variation elsewhere in the genome that might influence schooling preferences. As test subjects were equally familiar with stimulus groups, we conclude that tadpole discrimination involves a self-referent genetic recognition mechanism whereby individuals compare their own MHC type with those of conspecifics.