Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
Biol Lett. 2012 Dec 5;9(1):20120900. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2012.0900. Print 2013 Feb 23.
The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is at risk of extinction owing to the emergence of a contagious cancer known as devil facial tumour disease (DFTD). The emergence and spread of DFTD has been linked to low genetic diversity in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). We examined MHC diversity in historical and ancient devils to determine whether loss of diversity is recent or predates European settlement in Australia. Our results reveal no additional diversity in historical Tasmanian samples. Mainland devils had common modern variants plus six new variants that are highly similar to existing alleles. We conclude that low MHC diversity has been a feature of devil populations since at least the Mid-Holocene and could explain their tumultuous history of population crashes.
袋獾（Sarcophilus harrisii）正面临灭绝的危险，原因是一种名为恶魔面部肿瘤病（DFTD）的传染性癌症的出现。DFTD 的出现和传播与主要组织相容性复合体（MHC）的遗传多样性低有关。我们检查了历史和古代袋獾的 MHC 多样性，以确定多样性的丧失是最近发生的还是早于欧洲人在澳大利亚的定居。我们的研究结果表明，历史上的塔斯马尼亚袋獾样本没有更多的多样性。大陆袋獾具有常见的现代变体，加上六个与现有等位基因高度相似的新变体。我们的结论是，自中全新世以来，MHC 多样性低一直是袋獾种群的一个特征，这可以解释它们种群崩溃的动荡历史。
