1. Extensive MHC variability in cichlid fishes of Lake Malawi
- Author
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Klein, Dagmar, Ono, Hideki, O'hUigin, Colm, Vincek, Vladimir, Goldschmidt, Tijs, and Klein, Jan
- Subjects
Lake Nyasa -- Natural history ,Major histocompatibility complex -- Varieties ,Cichlidae -- Physiological aspects ,Environmental issues ,Science and technology ,Zoology and wildlife conservation - Abstract
The fish population that founded the 500 to 1,000 species in Lake Malawi some two to three million years ago was highly polymorphic at its major histocompatibility complex (MHC) loci. MHC genes seem to do for fish what they do for mammals: aid the immune response by telling self from non-self peptides Extant cichlid species exhibit large variation at their MHC loci. During adaptive species radiation different species kept different MHC alleles, perhaps helping us estimate the size of the initial population.
- Published
- 1993