期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：1982
卷号：79
期号：10
页码：3251-3254
DOI：10.1073/pnas.79.10.3251
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：A model to explain the high degree of polymorphism at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is described. The model incorporates domain transfer between the different loci in a supergene family by either gene conversion or double unequal crossing-over. Population genetics theory is used to formulate changes in the probabilities of allelic and nonallelic gene identities and equilibrium values are obtained. The observed degree of allelic and nonallelic homology in the complex can be explained by assuming that a domain is converted at a rate of 10(-5) to 10(-6) per generation and reasonable values of other parameters. This rate of domain transfer is compatible with the observed high mutation rate at marker loci in the major histocompatibility complex.
