Bottlenose Dolphin MHC Class II Gene Sequences Across Coastal Habitats

Data from Pagán et al. characterizes coding and promoter sequence variation in MHC Class II DQA and DQB genes from bottlenose dolphin populations. The study identified 10 alleles each in DQA and DQB coding regions and 6-7 alleles in their promoter regions, revealing positive selection and geographic differences. It provides genetic context for assessing population vulnerability profiles between estuarine and coastal habitats.

Use Cases

• Analyze geographic differences in DQA and DQB allele composition between estuarine and coastal dolphin populations.
• Investigate positive selection signals within the peptide binding region sequences of MHC Class II genes.
• Study structural diversity in promoter regions, including the duplicated 14-bp T-box motif in the DQA promoter.
• Compare promoter region variation across four cetacean families (Delphinidae, Monodontidae, Lipotidae, Physeteridae) for evolutionary analysis.

Strengths

• Includes specific allele counts: 10 alleles each for DQA and DQB coding regions and 6-7 alleles for their promoters.
• Combines analysis of both coding (peptide binding region) and regulatory (proximal promoter) sequence variation.
• First analysis of cetacean MHC regulatory motifs, providing novel immunogenetic insights.

Limitations

• Sample size and number of individual dolphin sequences are not specified.
• Data is focused on specific MHC Class II genes (DQA, DQB) and may not represent the full immunogenetic repertoire.
• Geographic coverage is limited to comparisons between estuarine and coastal populations of bottlenose dolphins.

Provenance

Source

Heidi J.T. Pagán via Dryad.

Collection Method

Combination of traditional and next-generation sequencing applied to bottlenose dolphin samples.

Freshness

Last updated in June 2020.

Geography

Estuarine and coastal populations of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).