Mhc diversity in two passerine birds: no evidence far a minimal essential Mhc
Humans express an array of Mhc genes, while the chicken has an Mhc that is relatively small and compact with fewer expressed genes. Here we ask whether the "minimal essential Mhc" of the chicken is representative for birds. We investigated the RFLP genotypes in 55 great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus and 10 willow warblers Phylloscopus trochilus to obtain an overview of the number of clas