Data from: MHC, parasites and antler development in red deer: no support for the Hamilton & Zuk hypothesis

The Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis proposes that the genetic benefits of
preferences for elaborated secondary sexual traits have their origins in
the arms race between hosts and parasites, which maintains genetic
variance in parasite resistance. Infection, in turn, can be reflected in
the expression of costly sexual ornaments. However, the link between
immune genes, infection, and the expression of secondary sexual traits has
rarely been investigated. Here, we explored whether the presence and
identity of functional variants (supertypes) of the highly polymorphic
major histocompatibility complex (MHC), which is responsible for the
recognition of parasites, predict the load of lung and gut parasites and
antler development in the red deer (Cervus elaphus). While we found MHC
supertypes to be associated with infection by a number of parasite
species, including debilitating lung nematodes, we did not find support
for the Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis. On the contrary, we found that lung
nematode load was positively associated with antler development. We also
found that the supertypes that were associated with resistance to certain
parasites at the same time cause susceptibility to others. Such tradeoffs
may undermine the potential genetic benefits of mate choice for resistant
partners.