Relationship between inbreeding and the major histocompatibility complex: A review

Abstract

Inbreeding is a phenomenon common to a number of scientific areas. In recent years, inbreeding research has focused on immunology, which is providing valuable results and broader understanding of the subject. The aim of this article was to review research of the relationship between inbreeding and the major histocompatibility complex. Though the main focus is farm animals, the results for other animal species are presented for comparison.