Data from: Genetic wealth, population health: major histocompatibility complex variation in captive and wild ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta)

Across species, diversity at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is
critical to individual disease resistance and, hence, to population
health; however, MHC diversity can be reduced in small, fragmented, or
isolated populations. Given the need for comparative studies of functional
genetic diversity, we investigated whether MHC diversity differs between
populations which are open, that is experiencing gene flow, versus
populations which are closed, that is isolated from other populations.
Using the endangered ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) as a model, we
compared two populations under long-term study: a relatively “open,” wild
population (n = 180) derived from Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve,
Madagascar (2003–2013) and a “closed,” captive population (n = 121)
derived from the Duke Lemur Center (DLC, 1980–2013) and from the
Indianapolis and Cincinnati Zoos (2012). For all animals, we assessed
MHC-DRB diversity and, across populations, we compared the number of
unique MHC-DRB alleles and their distributions. Wild individuals possessed
more MHC-DRB alleles than did captive individuals, and overall, the wild
population had more unique MHC-DRB alleles that were more evenly
distributed than did the captive population. Despite management efforts to
maintain or increase genetic diversity in the DLC population, MHC
diversity remained static from 1980 to 2010. Since 2010, however,
captive-breeding efforts resulted in the MHC diversity of offspring
increasing to a level commensurate with that found in wild individuals.
Therefore, loss of genetic diversity in lemurs, owing to small founder
populations or reduced gene flow, can be mitigated by managed breeding
efforts. Quantifying MHC diversity within individuals and between
populations is the necessary first step to identifying potential
improvements to captive management and conservation plans.