Greater Prairie Chickens Have a Compact MHC-B with a Single Class IA Locus
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Author's personal copy Immunogenetics DOI 10.1007/s00251-012-0664-7 ORIGINAL PAPER Greater prairie chickens have a compact MHC-B with a single class IA locus J. A. Eimes & K. M. Reed & K. M. Mendoza & J. L. Bollmer & L. A. Whittingham & Z. W. Bateson & P. O. Dunn Received: 18 July 2012 /Accepted: 22 October 2012 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012 Abstract The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) Introduction plays a central role in innate and adaptive immunity, but relatively little is known about the evolution of the number The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a family of and arrangement of MHC genes in birds. Insights into the genes found in all jawed vertebrates (Trowsdale 1988)that evolution of the MHC in birds can be gained by comparing facilitates the adaptive immune response to foreign parasites the genetic architecture of the MHC between closely related and pathogens (Janeway et al. 2005). Comparisons across species. We used a fosmid DNA library to sequence a 60.9-kb distantly related taxa have revealed major differences in the region of the MHC of the greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus size, number, and arrangement (i.e., architecture) of MHC loci cupido), one of five species of Galliformes with a physically (Kelley et al. 2005). For example, the MHC in galliform birds mapped MHC. Greater prairie chickens have the smallest core appears to be dramatically more compact than that of mam- MHC yet observed in any bird species, and major changes are mals. The core MHC-B of the domestic chicken (Gallus observed in the number and arrangement of MHC loci. In gallus) is 1/20th the size of the MHC in humans (HLA) and particular, the greater prairie chicken differs from other contains just 19 coding genes compared with over 60 in Galliformes in the deletion of an important class I antigen humans (Guillemot et al. 1988;Kelleyetal.2005). binding gene. Analysis of the remaining class IA gene in a The compact nature of the MHC in domestic chickens and population of greater prairie chickens in Wisconsin, USA strong associations between individual haplotypes and disease revealed little evidence for selection at the region responsible resistance led to the description of the chicken MHC as a for antigen binding. “minimal essential MHC” (Kaufman et al. 1995). Kaufman (1999) hypothesized that in birds, fewer antigen presenting molecules will recognize fewer pathogens, but with lessened Keywords MHC . Fosmidlibrary .Galliformes .Comparative risk of autoimmune disorders, while in mammals, the larger genomics . Tympanuchus cupido suite of expressed molecules protects against more pathogens but at the expense of greater risk of autoimmunity. For exam- ple, in humans, there are up to six expressed MHC class I genes, and several associations with diseases and specific loci have been described (reviewed by Shiina et al. 2004a). * : : : Domestic chickens, in contrast, have only two class I genes, J. A. Eimes ( :) J. L. Bollmer L. A. Whittingham Z. W. Bateson P. O. Dunn BF1 and BF2,andBF2 is dominantly expressed, and it has Department of Biological Sciences, been hypothesized that BF2 plays a role in resistance to Rous University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, sarcoma virus and Marek's disease (Kaufman and Venugopal Milwaukee, WI, USA e-mail: [email protected] 1998; Wallny et al. 2006). : In addition to the domestic chicken, the core MHC-B has K. M. Reed K. M. Mendoza been sequenced in four additional species within the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, Galliformes: domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo), golden St. Paul, MN, USA pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus), the black grouse (Tetrao Author's personal copy Immunogenetics tetrix, Genbank accession number AC:JQ028669), and overnight at 50 V using the Fosmid Control DNA (Epicentre) Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), and the MHC has many (40 kb) as a size marker. The gDNA was additionally sheared fewer genes, less intergenic space and smaller introns than by vortexing for 40-s intervals until an intact, 40 kb fragment the mammalian MHC (Shiina et al. 2004a, b; Chaves et al. was generated. We increased the efficiency of the insert liga- 2009;Yeetal.2012). Assembled sequences of the Galliform tion (on which all subsequent cloning steps are dependent) by MHC-B suggest that even among closely related taxa the gene omitting further size selection of the gDNA. The MaxPlax number, order and orientation are variable. For example, the Lambda Packaging Extracts, EPI300-T1 Plating Strain MHC-B of the turkey and Japanese quail contain several BG (pCC1FOS, Epicentre) preferentially accepts inserts of 30– genes between Blec2 and BTN2, while the domestic chicken 40 kb and, thus, size selects the fragment during the packaging has just one (Shiina et al. 2004a, b; Chaves et al. 2009). The step. domestic chicken has two MHC-B class IIB genes (Kaufman et al. 1999), whereas the turkey and golden pheasant have at Cloning least three (Chaves et al. 2009;Yeetal.2012), and in the Japanese quail, block duplications have generated up to eight Single-copy gDNA fragments (~40 kb) were cloned using class IIB genes in some individuals (Shiina et al. 2004a, b; the CopyControl™ Fosmid Library Production Kit with Hosomichi et al. 2006). pCC1FOS Vector and Phage T-1 Resistant EPI300™-T1R To further examine variation in the MHC of the locally Escherichia coli Plating Strain (Epicentre). We end-repaired threatened species, the greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus 15.0 μg of the DNA fragments using the Epicentre Fosmid cupido), we produced a physical map of the MHC-B region. kit according to the manufacturer's instructions, and 0.25 μg Previous work on this species (Eimes et al. 2011) had sug- of that DNA was ligated into 0.5 μg pCC1FOS vector DNA. gested variation in class II gene number between individuals, Transformed fosmids were packaged into MaxPlax Lambda and our efforts to amplify class I and other regions of the core Packaging Extract (Epicentre) and processed according to MHC failed, suggesting a different MHC-B genetic architec- the manufacturer's instructions followed by infection of ture than other Galliformes. The MHC-B assembly presented EPI300-T1R E. coli cells (Epicentre). Infected bacteria were here covers the region extending 60.9 kb from the BTN2 gene spread on 50 LB plates (22 cm) supplemented with 12.5 mg/ to the centromere protein gene CenpA. Our results show that mL chloramphenicol and incubated at 37 °C overnight. the genetic architecture of the MHC-B, while generally con- served in Galliformes, exhibits some important variations, Colony screening which is in part due to major inversions and deletions that have occurred between closely related species. In addition to a Colonies were harvested from each plate by flooding with physical map of the MHC in the greater prairie chicken, we 1.5 ml LBand gently scraping 700 μl of the mixture into investigated genetic variation and natural selection on the 1 ml microcentrifuge tubes supplemented with 20 % glycerol previously undescribed (in this species) class I peptide binding for immediate storage at −80 °C. The remaining mixture from gene. each plate was placed into a separate microcentrifuge tube for DNA extraction using the Epicentre FosmidMax Purification kit. Each extracted fosmid sub-library was then screened for Materials and methods MHC genes using the PCR primers Blex2F (Eimes et al. 2010) and E3R (Chaves et al. 2010), which together amplify a 279-bp Fosmid library construction fragment of the MHC class II gene encoding the β chain, and the primers pcTAP2F1 and pcTAP2R1 which amplify a 380- gDNA insert preparation bp fragment of the TAP2 antigen peptide transporter gene in the MHC class I (Table 1). The following PCR conditions were The library was constructed from DNA extracted from whole used: 50.0–100.0 ng fosmid DNA, 0.5 U of HotStar Taq blood from an adult female captured in Polk County, polymerase (Qiagen, USA), 4.0 μl of Q solution (Qiagen) Minnesota in 2008. High molecular weight genomic DNA and final concentrations of 0.5 μM of each primer, 200 μM was extracted using the Masterpure Complete DNA each dNTP and 1× of HotStar Taq PCR Buffer (Qiagen) and Purification Kit (Epicentre Biotechnologies, USA) and resus- water to a total volume of 25.0 μl. Cycling conditions were: pended in TE buffer at a concentration of 0.5 μg/μl. To 15minat95°Cinitialactivationfollowedby30cyclesof98° generate approximately 40 kb DNA fragments for insertion C for 20 s, 60 °C for 30 s, and 72 °C for 30 s. into the fosmid vector, 40 μg of purified gDNAwas randomly Positive sub-libraries were identified by sequencing the sheared by passing the sample through a 200-μl pipette tip 50 PCR amplicons and confirming homology to MHC genes in times. To confirm correct size of the insert, 1.0 μl of the the domestic turkey and chicken using BLAST. The resulting DNA was run on a 20-cm long, 0.8 % agarose gel corresponding glycerol stock (200 μl) from each positive Author's personal copy Immunogenetics Table 1 PCR primers and con- ditions used to amplify regions Locus/primer Primer sequence Product size (bp) Annealing temp (°C) Extension time of the prairie chicken MHC-B BTN2 F2 cacggctctgggtgctgtgg 2,850 58 4 m BLEC1 R3 cagaccgcttggcttggcga TAPBP F2 agtggggaggtggaggggga 4,250 65 6 m BRD2 R2 tgcagccaacgagaagcccg TAPBP 18 F ccagctgcgcttcccaacga 620 65 1 m TAPBP 18 R tgccgtcggtctcaccccaa IIB-2 15 F cacccggcccacccctatga 850 65 1 m IIB-2 15 R aggggacgccccatggactc DMB1Fa gaaggctgcagtgctcgcca 4,250 63 6 m DMB2Rab cgtcctctgcaacagccggg DMB2U tgggttgctgtggggcctct 2,450 60 3 m dmTAP2-Ra Tacgtgcccaccaagctgcg IAex2F gcggtacttctgcaccgcga 220 62 30 s IAex3R actgcctctggaactgccgc nTAP1-C4-F gggggtgggggcagtaggag 4,850 63 6 m nTAP1-C4-R cacagcgctcagcctgcact pcTAP1 F1 agggccatttttctcctcat 380 60 30 s pcTAP1 R1 tgattgctcagaaggtcac pcBG1F tggagcggcacagggtgagt 354 62 45 s pcBG1R gggctgcaaccaccccagtt pcBlec2F gacagagcaggcaggcagca 156 62 30 s pcBlec2r actgccctgagaccaacggga xTAPBpFalt ggcaggaacacggcgcagat 1,120 63 1.5 m xTAPBPR1 agtggtggttggcggcagtg pc1A ex3F gcttcaaccagagcggcggt 674 62 1 m pc1A ex3R acgatgggccgcgggtagaa sub-library (one TAP1 and one class II) was diluted with LB E.