The development of the single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) technique to assess sequence level variation within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) DRB1 gene in four South African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) populations

This thesis reports the development of Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphism (SSCP) technique to assess sequence level variation within the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) DRB1 gene in four South African buffalo populations. MHC gene products are involved in the immune response, and so variation within these genes provides information on the immunological fitness of the population under study. The aims of this study were: (i) to develop the SSCP technique; (ii) to investigate the level of genetic variation at the peptide binding region (PBR) of the DRB1 gene in four South African buffalo populations. (iii) This data was then compared to data generated previously in a study on the same populations using microsatellite DNA, (iv) the statistical comparisons were used to assess the appropriateness of SSCP data for population genetic analysis. Levels of heterozygosity, allelic diversity and population differentiation were quantified using MHC DRB1 gene. The amplified region (Exon 2 of the DRB1 gene) showed high levels of variability, with 77 alleles found in the 84 individuals examined using SSCP analyses.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology

Year dc:date.issued

2003

Author dc:creator

• Hedley, Paula

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• O'Ryan, Colleen

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4271

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/4271