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Non‐association between Rfp‐Y major histocompatibility complex‐like genes and susceptibility to Marek’s disease virus‐induced tumours in 6 3 × 7 2 F 2 intercross chickens
Author(s) -
Vallejo R L,
Liu H C,
Cheng H H,
Witter R L,
Bacon L D,
Pharr G T
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
animal genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.756
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1365-2052
pISSN - 0268-9146
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2052.1997.00178.x
Subject(s) - biology , haplotype , genetics , marek's disease , genotyping , major histocompatibility complex , genotype , allele , population , gene , virology , demography , sociology
Marek’s disease (MD) is a lymphoproliferative disease caused by a member of the herpesvirus family, and the best understood genetic resistance to MD involves the chicken major histocompatibility complex (MHC) B ‐complex. Preliminary observations have suggested that MHC‐like Rfp‐Y genes might also influence the incidence of MD. This study describes the differentiation and definition of unique Rfp‐Y genes in inbred lines 6 3 and 7 2 , lines that possess identical B ‐complex genes, but that are resistant or susceptible to MD, respectively. To assess if Rfp‐Y genes affect susceptibility to MD, 265 6 3 × 7 2 F 2 chickens were challenged with the JM strain of MD virus at 1 week of age and were evaluated for MD lesions at up to 10 weeks of age. Genotyping of the F 2 chickens for Rfp‐Y haplotypes was performed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of genomic DNA using Taq I and a B‐FIV probe. Analysis of variance and interval mapping procedures were used to determine association between the Rfp‐Y haplotypes and the phenotypic MD values of the F 2 chickens. The cosegregation analysis of 265 F 2 chickens indicated that there was no association between Rfp‐Y haplotypes and MD susceptibility. Furthermore, the fact that the Rfp‐Y haplotypes fit the 1:2:1 segregation ratio and the Rfp‐Y allele frequencies did not differ significantly from 0·5 in the full population or in selected subpopulations (of either 40 MD‐resistant or 39 MD‐susceptible chickens) also indicated that Rfp‐Y haplotypes do not significantly influence MD susceptibility. We conclude that Rfp‐Y haplotypes do not play a major role in determining the genetic susceptibility to MD in 6 3 × 7 2 F 2 White Leghorn chickens.