@misc{10481/93292,
year = {2024},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/93292},
abstract = {The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a genetic region in jawed vertebrates that contains key genes involved in the immune response. Associations between the MHC and avian malaria infections in wild birds have been observed and mainly explored in the Northern Hemisphere, while a general lack of information remains in the Southern Hemisphere. Here, we investigated the associations between the MHC genes and infections with Plasmodium and Haemoproteus blood parasites along a latitudinal gradient in South America. We sampled 93 rufous-collared sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis) individuals from four countries, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, and estimated MHC-I and MHC-II allele diversity. We detected between 1–4 (MHC-I) and 1–6 (MHC-II) amino acidic alleles per individual, with signs of positive selection. We obtained generalized additive mixed models to explore the associations between MHC-I and MHC-II diversity and latitude. We also explored the relationship between infection status and latitude/biome. We found a non-linear association between the MHC-II amino acidic allele diversity and latitude. Individuals from north Chile presented a lower MHC genetic diversity than those from other locations. We also found an association between deserts and xeric shrublands and a lower prevalence of Haemoproteus parasites. Our results support a lower MHC genetic in arid or semi-arid habitats in the region with the lower prevalence of Haemoproteus parasites.},
organization = {This study was funded by FONDECYT-CONICYT Postdoctorado 3,170,211; CONICYT PIA APOYO CCTE AFB170008; IEB-FB210006; ANID—Convocatoria Nacional Subvención a la Instalación en la Academia, 2020, PAI77200078; Cape Horn International Center (CHIC), ANID/BASAL FB210018; ANID—Programa Iniciativa Milenio—ICN2021_044 (CGR), ICN2021_002 (BASE), and NCN2021-050 (LiLi); Universidad San Francisco de Quito (HUBI 12424); JMP was financed by the PID2020-118205GB-I00 grant funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF A way of making Europe”; AM was funded by line of action LA4 (R + D + I program in the Biodiversity Area financed with the funds of the FEDER Extremadura 2021–2027 Operational Program of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan) and by “Consejería de Economía e Infraestructura of the Junta de Extremadura” and the European Regional Development Fund, a Way to Make Europe, through the research project IB20089.},
title = {Associations among MHC genes, latitude, and avian malaria infections in the rufous-collared sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis).},
doi = {10.1002/ece3.11634},
author = {Rivero de Aguilar, Juan and Barroso, Omar and Bonaccorso, Elisa and Cadena, Hector and Hussing, Lucas and Jorquera, Josefina and Martinez, Javier and Martínez-de la Puente, Josué and Marzal, Alfonso and León Miranda, Fabiola and Merino, Santiago and Matta, Nubia E. and Ramenofsky, Marilyn and Rozzi, Ricardo and Valeris-Chacín, Carlos E. and Vásquez, Rodrigo A. and Vianna, Juliana A. and Wingfield, John C.},
}