Isolation and characterization of 10 MHC Class I-associated microsatellite loci in tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii)

Yuanyuan Cheng; Matthew Wakefield; Hannah V Siddle; Penny C Coggill; Cathy A Herbert; Stephan Beck; Katherine Belov; Mark D B Eldridge

doi:10.1111/j.1755-0998.2008.02401.x

Isolation and characterization of 10 MHC Class I-associated microsatellite loci in tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii)

Mol Ecol Resour. 2009 Jan;9(1):346-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-0998.2008.02401.x.

Authors

Yuanyuan Cheng¹, Matthew Wakefield, Hannah V Siddle, Penny C Coggill, Cathy A Herbert, Stephan Beck, Katherine Belov, Mark D B Eldridge

Affiliation

¹ Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, B19, Sydney 2006, Australia.

PMID: 21564646
DOI: 10.1111/j.1755-0998.2008.02401.x

Abstract

The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) contain genes which play a key role in immune response and mate choice, and are therefore of functional importance to molecular ecologists. Here we describe the design of 10 MHC Class I-associated microsatellite loci from the tammar wallaby. All 10 loci are highly polymorphic, with the expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.547 to 0.919. Six loci successfully cross-amplify in other macropodid species. These microsatellites will serve as useful tools for studying the level of MHC diversity, the impact of selection on genetic variation and the unique structure of the tammar wallaby MHC.