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Sex‐Dependent Influence of Major Histocompatibility Complex Diversity on Fitness in a Social Mammal

Nadine Schubert Orcid Logo, Hazel Nichols Orcid Logo, Francis Mwanguhya, Robert Businge, Solomon Kyambulima, Kenneth Mwesige, Joseph I. Hoffman, Michael A. Cant Orcid Logo, Jamie C. Winternitz Orcid Logo

Molecular Ecology, Start page: e70058

Swansea University Author: Hazel Nichols Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1111/mec.70058

Abstract

Parasite infections affect males and females differently across a wide range of species, often due to differences in immune responses. Generally, females tend to have stronger immune defences and lower parasite loads than males. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a crucial role in the...

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Published in: Molecular Ecology
ISSN: 0962-1083 1365-294X
Published: Wiley 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70054
first_indexed 2025-07-30T08:59:27Z
last_indexed 2025-08-19T22:13:19Z
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spelling 2025-08-18T12:03:50.4192606 v2 70054 2025-07-30 Sex‐Dependent Influence of Major Histocompatibility Complex Diversity on Fitness in a Social Mammal 43ba12986bd7754484874c73eed0ebfe 0000-0002-4455-6065 Hazel Nichols Hazel Nichols true false 2025-07-30 BGPS Parasite infections affect males and females differently across a wide range of species, often due to differences in immune responses. Generally, females tend to have stronger immune defences and lower parasite loads than males. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a crucial role in the adaptive immune response, and extensive research has explored how variation in this region influences infection and fitness outcomes. However, studies of sex‐specific relationships between MHC variation and infection are scarce, perhaps because MHC genes are located on the autosomes, which are shared by both sexes. Here, we provide evidence of sexually antagonistic selection in a wild, group‐living mammal—the banded mongoose. Using genetic and life history data collected from over 300 individuals across 25 years, we found that both MHC class I (MHC‐I) and MHC class II (MHC‐II) diversity influence lifetime reproductive success differently in males and females. Specifically, higher MHC diversity is linked to increased fitness in males but decreased fitness in females. Furthermore, MHC diversity did not differ between the sexes, indicating an unresolved genetic sexual conflict. Our findings demonstrate that sexually antagonistic selection acts on the MHC and may operate across both MHC classes but differently. This study contributes to the growing body of evidence that sex is a significant factor in shaping host immunity and fitness. Journal Article Molecular Ecology 0 e70058 Wiley 0962-1083 1365-294X antagonistic selection, banded mongoose, lifetime reproductive success, MHC, Mungos mungo 26 7 2025 2025-07-26 10.1111/mec.70058 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee Nadine Schubert was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG); project number 416495992 to Jamie C. Winternitz. Jamie C. Winternitz was supported by the DFG as part of the SFB TRR 212 (NC3)—Project numbers 316099922 and 396780709. Hazel J. Nichols was supported by an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellowship and a Leverhulme Trust International Fellowship (grant reference: IAF-2018-006). 2025-08-18T12:03:50.4192606 2025-07-30T09:54:44.8152750 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences Nadine Schubert 0000-0001-6131-3543 1 Hazel Nichols 0000-0002-4455-6065 2 Francis Mwanguhya 3 Robert Businge 4 Solomon Kyambulima 5 Kenneth Mwesige 6 Joseph I. Hoffman 7 Michael A. Cant 0000-0002-1530-3077 8 Jamie C. Winternitz 0000-0002-1113-9126 9 70054__34867__1fcb8fd60aaf4ef99143c3fa4f24d3ba.pdf mec.70058.pdf 2025-07-30T09:54:44.7848678 Output 2417425 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Sex‐Dependent Influence of Major Histocompatibility Complex Diversity on Fitness in a Social Mammal
spellingShingle Sex‐Dependent Influence of Major Histocompatibility Complex Diversity on Fitness in a Social Mammal
Hazel Nichols
title_short Sex‐Dependent Influence of Major Histocompatibility Complex Diversity on Fitness in a Social Mammal
title_full Sex‐Dependent Influence of Major Histocompatibility Complex Diversity on Fitness in a Social Mammal
title_fullStr Sex‐Dependent Influence of Major Histocompatibility Complex Diversity on Fitness in a Social Mammal
title_full_unstemmed Sex‐Dependent Influence of Major Histocompatibility Complex Diversity on Fitness in a Social Mammal
title_sort Sex‐Dependent Influence of Major Histocompatibility Complex Diversity on Fitness in a Social Mammal
author_id_str_mv 43ba12986bd7754484874c73eed0ebfe
author_id_fullname_str_mv 43ba12986bd7754484874c73eed0ebfe_***_Hazel Nichols
author Hazel Nichols
author2 Nadine Schubert
Hazel Nichols
Francis Mwanguhya
Robert Businge
Solomon Kyambulima
Kenneth Mwesige
Joseph I. Hoffman
Michael A. Cant
Jamie C. Winternitz
format Journal article
container_title Molecular Ecology
container_volume 0
container_start_page e70058
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 0962-1083
1365-294X
doi_str_mv 10.1111/mec.70058
publisher Wiley
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 1
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description Parasite infections affect males and females differently across a wide range of species, often due to differences in immune responses. Generally, females tend to have stronger immune defences and lower parasite loads than males. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) plays a crucial role in the adaptive immune response, and extensive research has explored how variation in this region influences infection and fitness outcomes. However, studies of sex‐specific relationships between MHC variation and infection are scarce, perhaps because MHC genes are located on the autosomes, which are shared by both sexes. Here, we provide evidence of sexually antagonistic selection in a wild, group‐living mammal—the banded mongoose. Using genetic and life history data collected from over 300 individuals across 25 years, we found that both MHC class I (MHC‐I) and MHC class II (MHC‐II) diversity influence lifetime reproductive success differently in males and females. Specifically, higher MHC diversity is linked to increased fitness in males but decreased fitness in females. Furthermore, MHC diversity did not differ between the sexes, indicating an unresolved genetic sexual conflict. Our findings demonstrate that sexually antagonistic selection acts on the MHC and may operate across both MHC classes but differently. This study contributes to the growing body of evidence that sex is a significant factor in shaping host immunity and fitness.
published_date 2025-07-26T05:28:38Z
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