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Major Histocompatibility Complex Does Not Affect Mating Patterns In Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis Macrochirus), Lucas Silveira

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In many species, individuals prefer mates that are genetically dissimilar at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). This is likely because it improves offspring resistance to pathogens. Here I provide the first genotypic characterization of the MHC class II peptide binding region in bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), a species of sunfish, and examine its effect on mating patterns. I hypothesized females would choose to mate with MHC dissimilar males leading to an increase in the resulting offspring’s fitness. I captured females and males during spawning and sequenced the DNA of these fish at the MHC class II putative peptide binding …