| Title: | Plumage microbiota covaries with the major histocompatibility complex in blue petrels |
| Author(s): | Leclaire S; Strandh M; Dell'Ariccia G; Gabirot M; Westerdahl H; Bonadonna F; |
| Address: | "Laboratoire Evolution & Diversite Biologique, UMR 5174 (CNRS, Universite Paul Sabatier, ENFA), Toulouse, France. Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS-CEFE, Montpellier, France. Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab, Lund University, Lund, Sweden" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1365-294X (Electronic) 0962-1083 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "To increase fitness, a wide range of vertebrates preferentially mate with partners that are dissimilar at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) or that have high MHC diversity. Although MHC often can be assessed through olfactory cues, the mechanism by which MHC genes influence odour remains largely unclear. MHC class IIB molecules, which enable recognition and elimination of extracellular bacteria, have been suggested to influence odour indirectly by shaping odour-producing microbiota, i.e. bacterial communities. However, there is little evidence of the predicted covariation between an animal's MHC genotype and its bacterial communities in scent-producing body surfaces. Here, using high-throughput sequencing, we tested the covariation between MHC class IIB genotypes and feather microbiota in the blue petrel (Halobaena caerulea), a seabird with highly developed olfaction that has been suggested to rely on oduor cues during an MHC-based mate choice. First, we show that individuals with similar MHC class IIB profiles also have similar bacterial assemblages in their feathers. Then, we show that individuals with high MHC diversity have less diverse feather microbiota and also a reduced abundance of a bacterium of the genus Arsenophonus, a genus in which some species are symbionts of avian ectoparasites. Our results, showing that feather microbiota covary with MHC, are consistent with the hypothesis that individual MHC genotype may shape the semiochemical-producing microbiota in birds" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Birds/*metabolism/*microbiology Genes, MHC Class II/genetics/physiology Genotype Major Histocompatibility Complex/genetics/physiology Microbiota/genetics/*physiology Mhc bacteria feathers microbiome, seabirds uropygial gland;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineLeclaire, Sarah Strandh, Maria Dell'Ariccia, Gaia Gabirot, Marianne Westerdahl, Helena Bonadonna, Francesco eng 354/Institut Polaire Francais Paul Emile Victor/International 10-LABX-41/Agence Nationale de la Recherche/International 13-PDOC-0002/Agence Nationale de la Recherche/International Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2018/12/26 Mol Ecol. 2019 Feb; 28(4):833-846. doi: 10.1111/mec.14993. Epub 2019 Feb 4" |
