Genetic variation at MHC class II loci influences both olfactory signals and scent discrimination in ring-tailed lemurs

Background. Diversity at the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) is critical to health and fitness, such that MHC genotype may predict an individual’s quality or compatibility as a competitor, ally, or mate. Moreover, because MHC products can influence the components of bodily secretions, an individual’s body odors may signal its MHC composition and influence partner identification or mate choice. Here, we investigated MHC-based signaling and recipient sensitivity by testing for odor-gene covariance and behavioral discrimination of MHC diversity and pairwise dissimilarity in a strepsirrhine primate, the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta).
Methods. First, we coupled genotyping of the MHC class II gene, DRB, with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of genital gland secretions to investigate if functional genetic diversity is signaled by the chemical diversity of lemur scent secretions. We also assessed if the chemical similarity between individuals correlated with their MHC-DRB similari...

研究背景：主要组织相容性复合体（Major Histocompatibility Complex, MHC）的多样性对个体健康与适合度至关重要，因此MHC基因型可用于预测个体作为竞争者、盟友或配偶的质量与兼容性。此外，由于MHC产物可影响体液分泌物的组成成分，个体的体味可传递其MHC构成信息，并影响伴侣识别或配偶选择。本研究以原猴亚目灵长类动物环尾狐猴（Lemur catta）为研究对象，通过检测气味-基因共关联情况，以及分析受试个体对MHC多样性和两两差异的行为识别能力，探究基于MHC的信号传递与接收者敏感性。研究方法：首先，我们将MHC II类基因DRB的基因分型与生殖器腺体分泌物的气相色谱-质谱联用（gas chromatography-mass spectrometry）分析相结合，以探究狐猴气味分泌物的化学多样性是否能够传递功能遗传多样性。我们还评估了个体间的化学相似性是否与其MHC-DRB相似性相关……