1. Linking a mutation to survival in wild mice.
- Author
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Barrett RDH, Laurent S, Mallarino R, Pfeifer SP, Xu CCY, Foll M, Wakamatsu K, Duke-Cohan JS, Jensen JD, and Hoekstra HE
- Subjects
- Animals, Gene Frequency, Genotype, Melanins analysis, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mice, Transgenic, Mutation, Nebraska, Phenotype, Pigmentation genetics, Sequence Deletion, Agouti Signaling Protein genetics, Hair Color genetics, Peromyscus genetics, Selection, Genetic
- Abstract
Adaptive evolution in new or changing environments can be difficult to predict because the functional connections between genotype, phenotype, and fitness are complex. Here, we make these explicit connections by combining field and laboratory experiments in wild mice. We first directly estimate natural selection on pigmentation traits and an underlying pigment locus, Agouti , by using experimental enclosures of mice on different soil colors. Next, we show how a mutation in Agouti associated with survival causes lighter coat color through changes in its protein binding properties. Together, our findings demonstrate how a sequence variant alters phenotype and then reveal the ensuing ecological consequences that drive changes in population allele frequency, thereby illuminating the process of evolution by natural selection., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.)
- Published
- 2019
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