Limited associations between MHC diversity and reproductive success in a bird species with biparental care
Data files
Jan 29, 2024 version files 768.36 KB
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1.R_script_fdiv_all_dataset.R
40.10 KB
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10.Dataset_MHCI_supertypes_all_dataset.csv
70.99 KB
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11.Dataset_DAB1_supertypes_all_dataset.csv
85.97 KB
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12.Dataset_DAB2_supertypes_all_dataset.csv
71.40 KB
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13.R_script_MHC_supertypes_full_cross-fostered.R
38.44 KB
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14.Dataset_MHCI_supertypes_full_cross-foster.csv
32.53 KB
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15.Dataset_DAB1_supertypes_full_cross-foster.csv
37.55 KB
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16.Dataset_DAB2_supertypes_full_cross-foster.csv
30.34 KB
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2.Dataset_MHCI_fdiv_all_dataset.csv
60.99 KB
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3.Dataset_DAB1_fdiv_all_dataset.csv
57.29 KB
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4.Dataset_DAB2_fdiv_all_dataset.csv
53.58 KB
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5.R_script_fdiv_full_cross-foster.R
43.97 KB
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6.Dataset_MHCI_fdiv_full_cross-foster.csv
27.06 KB
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7.Dataset_DAB1_fdiv_full_cross-foster.csv
23.10 KB
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8.Dataset_DAB2_fdiv_full_cross-foster.csv
21.51 KB
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9.R_script_MHC_supertypes_all_dataset.R
32.91 KB
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Info_file.txt
4.64 KB
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MHCI_alleles_fasta.fas
28.26 KB
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MHCII_DAB1_alleles_fasta.fas
3.38 KB
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MHCII_DAB2_alleles_fasta.fas
2.33 KB
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README.md
2 KB
Abstract
The selective pressure from pathogens on individuals can have direct consequences on reproduction. Genes from the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are central to the vertebrate adaptive immune system and pathogen resistance. In species with biparental care, each sex has distinct reproductive roles and levels of investment, and due to a trade-off with immunity, one can expect different selective regimes acting upon the MHC of each parent. Here, we addressed whether couples combine each other’s variation at MHC loci to increase their breeding success. Specifically, we used a 23-year dataset from a barn owl population (Tyto alba) to understand how MHC class Iα and IIβ functional divergence and supertypes of each parent were associated with clutch size and fledging success. We did not detect associations between MHC diversity or supertypes with the clutch size nor with the fledging success. In addition, to understand the relative contribution from the MHC of the genetic parents and the social parents, we analysed the fledging success using only a cross-fostered dataset. We found several associations of weak-to-moderate effect sizes between the father’s MHC and fledging success: i) lower MHC-Iα divergence in the genetic father increases fledging success, which might improve paternal care during incubation, and ii) one and two MHC-IIβ DAB2 supertypes in the social father decrease and increase, respectively, fledging success, which may affect the paternal care after hatching. Furthermore, fledging success increased when both parents did not carry MHC-IIβ DAB1 supertype 2, which could suggest conditional effects of this supertype. Although our study relied on a substantial dataset, we showed that the associations between MHC diversity and reproductive success remain scarce and of complex interpretation in the barn owl. Moreover, our results highlighted the need to incorporate more than one proxy of reproductive success and several MHC classes to capture more complex associations.
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.8931zcrxn
R scripts and .csv files used to model the response of reproductive success (clutch size and fledging success) to MHC diversity (functional divergence and presence of the most common supertypes) of a wild barn owl population. Sample size might vary between files due to missing genotypes.
Description of the data and file structure
Info_file: description of files and variables.
xxxx_alleles_fasta.fas: fasta files of the alleles present in this barn owl population. Accession numbers can be found in the supplementary material.
Dataset_xxxx_fdiv/supertypes_all_dataset.csv: files containing the entire dataset used to test the variation in the clutch size and fledging success of each breeding attempt in response to MHC variables and covariates.
Dataset_xxxx_fdiv/supertypes_full_cross-foster.csv: files containing the cross-fostered dataset used to test the variation in the fledging success of each breeding attempt and differentiate between genetic and parental effects of the MHC of the genetic and social parents and respective covariates.
Code/Software
R Scripts:
1.R_script_fdiv_all_dataset.R: script used to model the clutch size and fledging success in response to MHC functional divergence of the parents using all dataset.
5.R_script_fdiv_full_cross-foster.R: script used to model the clutch size and fledging success in response to MHC functional divergence of the genetic and social parents using the cross-fostered dataset.
9.R_script_MHC_supertypes_all_dataset.R: script used to model the clutch size and fledging success in response to specific MHC supertypes of the parents using all dataset.
13.R_script_MHC_supertypes_full_cross-fostered.R: script used to model the clutch size and fledging success in response to specific MHC supertypes of the genetic and social parents using the cross-fostered dataset.
- Ferreira, Diana Silva; Garcia, Luis San-José; Roulin, Alexandre et al. (2023). MHC diversity associates with reproductive success in a bird species with biparental care [Preprint]. Authorea, Inc.. https://doi.org/10.22541/au.169278137.74245546/v1
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Ferreira, Diana; San‐Jose, Luis M.; Roulin, Alexandre et al. (2024). Limited associations between
MHC diversity and reproductive success in a bird species with biparental care. Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10950
