Identification and characterization of major histocompatibility complex class IIB alleles from three species of European ranid frogs

Immune genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are among the most polymorphic genes in the vertebrate genome. Due to their polymorphic nature, they are often used to assess the adaptive genetic variability of natural populations. This study describes the first molecular characterization of 13 partial MHC class IIB sequences from three European ranid frogs.  The utility of previously published primers was expanded by using them to successfully amplify eight exon 2 alleles from Rana arvalis. We also designed a novel primer set that successfully amplified exon 2 from Pelophylax kurtmuelleri. Pelophylax lessonae was also designed as part of this study. Results indicate the presence of one or two class IIB loci in these three species. In R. arvalis, significant evidence of positive selection acting on MHC antigen binding sites was found. Many European ranid populations are experiencing disease-related declines; the newly developed primers can, therefore, be used for further population analyses of native frogs.