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Journal of Heredity Advance Access originally published online on November 6, 2007
Journal of Heredity 2008 99(1):14-21; doi:10.1093/jhered/esm087
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© The American Genetic Association. 2007. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

MHC DQB-1 Polymorphism in the Gulf of California Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) Population

Sergio Nigenda-Morales, Sergio Flores-Ramírez, Jorge Urbán-R., and Ricardo Vázquez-Juárez

From the Laboratorio de Ecología Molecular, Departamento de Biología Marina, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, Carretera al Sur Km. 5.5, La Paz, B.C.S., México 23080 (Nigenda-Morales and Flores-Ramírez); the Programa de Investigación de Mamíferos Marinos, Departamento de Biología Marina, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, Carretera al Sur Km. 5.5, La Paz, B.C.S., México 23080 (Urbán-R.); and the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas del Noroeste, SC Mar Bermejo 195, Playa Palo de Santa Rita, La Paz, B.C.S., México 23090 (Vázquez-Juárez)

Address correspondence to S. Flores-Ramírez at the address above, or e-mail: fflores{at}uabcs.mx.

One of the most isolated populations of fin whales occurs in the Gulf of California (GOC) with 400–800 individuals. This population shows reduced neutral genetic variation in comparison to the North Pacific population and thus might also display limited adaptive polymorphism. We sampled 36 fin whales from the GOC and assessed genetic variation at exon 2 of the major histocompatibility complex class II DQB-1 genes responsible for eliciting immune responses. Three divergent alleles were found with higher nonsynonymous than synonymous substitution rates within the peptide-binding region positions as well as the likely retention of ancient alleles, indicating that positive selection has shaped diversity in this species. Limited levels of nonneutral polymorphism, in addition to previously described low levels of neutral polymorphism, are consistent with the results of previous studies on vertebrate populations that have remained small and demographically stable for a very long time. Such low genetic variation in the GOC fin whales could be explained by 2 demographic scenarios: an ancient isolated population with limited gene flow or a more recent founder event after the last glacial maximum with very restricted gene flow.

Corresponding Editor: C. Scott Baker

Received September 6, 2006
Accepted September 20, 2007


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