Marsupial Ig genomics revisited and the potential role of retroelements in the limited number of heavy chain isotypes.

Background: Marsupials have limited germline antibody heavy chain variable (VH) gene diversity and more complex light chain variable gene diversity. They also appear to have a limited repertoire of immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) isotypes. Using updated genome assemblies, we reannotated and compared the IgH loci of six marsupial species. While the number of VH are limited, there is evidence of greater retention of ancestral VH diversity than previously recognized. Most mammalian lineages have multiple IgH subclasses; for example, mice have four IgG and rabbits have 15 IgA.

Results: Marsupials are unusually uniform in having only a single IgM, IgG, IgE, and IgA and no IgD. This appears to be a marsupial specific limit on heavy chain isotypes, not the ancestral mammalian state. Given the role retroelements have played in chromosomal stability, we investigated their presence in the marsupial IgH, Igκ, and Igλ loci. We found a higher proportion of LINE type retroelements in the region of the opossum IgH locus encoding the constant regions compared to the VH region, and when compared to the mouse IgH locus.

Conclusion: These results are consistent with a possible correlation with retroelements playing a potential role in the limited complexity of marsupial IgH isotypes.