Research overview: major histocompatibility complex diversity in felids

The major histocompatibility complex encodes immune-recognition molecules whose diversity is crucial for resisting pathogens, and its depletion is a key concern in inbred cat populations. This overview surveys studies of MHC variation across felids, from the famously uniform cheetah whose monomorphism allowed skin grafts between unrelated individuals, to reduced diversity in Asiatic lions and Florida panthers, to more variable populations in widespread species. It discusses how MHC diversity is measured, why balancing selection normally maintains it, the disease-vulnerability implications of its loss in bottlenecked cats, and how immune-gene diversity has become a standard indicator in felid conservation genetics.