Unravelling the architecture of Major Histocompatibility Complex class II haplotypes in rhesus macaques

The regions in the genome that encode components of the immune system are often featured by polymorphism, copy number variation and segmental duplications. There is a need to thoroughly characterize these complex regions to gain insight into the impact of genomic diversity on health and disease. Here we resolve the organization of complete major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II regions in rhesus macaques by using a long-read sequencing strategy (Oxford Nanopore Technologies) in concert with adaptive sampling. In particular, the expansion and contraction of the primate DRB-region appears to be a dynamic process that involves the rearrangement of different cassettes of paralogous genes. These chromosomal recombination events are propagated by a conserved pseudogene, DRB6, which features the integration of two retroviral elements. In contrast, the DRA locus appears to be protected from rearrangements, which may be due to the presence of an adjacently located truncated gene segment, DRB9. With our sequencing strategy, the annotation, evolutionary conservation, and potential function of pseudogenes can be reassessed, an aspect that was neglected by most genome studies in primates. Furthermore, our approach facilitates the characterization and refinement of an animal model essential to study human biology and disease.