Concerted Evolution and Polymorphism in the Mhc Class II Region of Birds

[9815800 . scott Edwars]本提案的目标是描述鸟类免疫重要基因家族的结构和进化。这些基因被称为主要组织相容性复合体（Mhc）基因，将被克隆并测序，以了解在该基因家族进化过程中发生的DNA变化的速率和模式。Mhc基因引起了免疫学家的极大兴趣，因为它们编码的蛋白质在脊椎动物的身体防御疾病中起着至关重要的作用。Mhc基因是进化生物学家感兴趣的，因为它们是脊椎动物基因组中最可变的区域。然而，大多数关于这些基因的研究都是在哺乳动物身上进行的。通过了解鸟类Mhc基因是如何进化的，这项研究将使我们能够更好地了解不同脊椎动物群体的基因家族是如何变化的，并进一步了解不同脊椎动物群体的基因组是否以明显不同的方式变化。随着大规模基因组计划接近完成，了解Mhc基因组及其基因家族与其他动物群体的差异和变化将是很重要的。这一信息对于了解地球上生命的多样性和遗传变化，以及了解鸟类等动物如何抵御疾病和寄生虫非常重要。

9815800Scott Edwars The goal of this proposal is to characterize the structure and evolution of a family of immunologically important genes in birds. These genes, called major histocompatibility complex (Mhc) genes, will be cloned and sequenced to understand the rates and pattern of DNA changes that have taken place during the evolution of this gene family. Mhc genes are of great interest to immunologists because they encode proteins that play a critical role the body's defense against disease in vertebrates. Mhc genes are of interest to evolutionary biologists because they are the most variable regions of the genome of vertebrates. Most work on these genes, however, has been done on mammals. By understanding how bird Mhc genes evolve, this research will permit a better understanding of how gene families in different groups of vertebrates change, and, by extension, whether or not the genomes of different groups of vertebrates change in appreciably different ways. As large-scale genome projects near completion, it will be important to understand how the Mhc genome and the families of genes in it differ and change compared to those in other groups of animals. This information is important for understanding the diversity of life and genetic change on earth, as well as for understanding how animals such as birds defend themselves against diseases and parasites.