Characterisation of the MHC-IIA gene in passerine birds: copy number, polymorphism and patterns of selection
In jawed vertebrates, the initiation of an adaptive immune response against a novel pathogen relies on antigen presentation, the process whereby the organism’s cells present pathogen-derived peptides to T cells, which recognise the foreign material and elicit subsequent action. The cell surface proteins responsible for antigen presentation are encoded within a region of the genome known as the maj
