1. Parallel adaptation of rabbit populations to myxoma virus.
- Author
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Alves JM, Carneiro M, Cheng JY, Lemos de Matos A, Rahman MM, Loog L, Campos PF, Wales N, Eriksson A, Manica A, Strive T, Graham SC, Afonso S, Bell DJ, Belmont L, Day JP, Fuller SJ, Marchandeau S, Palmer WJ, Queney G, Surridge AK, Vieira FG, McFadden G, Nielsen R, Gilbert MTP, Esteves PJ, Ferrand N, and Jiggins FM
- Subjects
- Alleles, Animals, Australia, Evolution, Molecular, France, Gene Frequency, Genetic Variation, Interferon alpha-2 genetics, Interferon alpha-2 immunology, Myxomatosis, Infectious genetics, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Population, Rabbits immunology, United Kingdom, Adaptation, Biological genetics, Immunity, Innate genetics, Myxoma virus immunology, Myxomatosis, Infectious immunology, Rabbits genetics, Rabbits virology
- Abstract
In the 1950s the myxoma virus was released into European rabbit populations in Australia and Europe, decimating populations and resulting in the rapid evolution of resistance. We investigated the genetic basis of resistance by comparing the exomes of rabbits collected before and after the pandemic. We found a strong pattern of parallel evolution, with selection on standing genetic variation favoring the same alleles in Australia, France, and the United Kingdom. Many of these changes occurred in immunity-related genes, supporting a polygenic basis of resistance. We experimentally validated the role of several genes in viral replication and showed that selection acting on an interferon protein has increased the protein's antiviral effect., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.)
- Published
- 2019
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