Linking a mutation to survival in wild mice

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 natu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2019-02, Vol.363 (6426), p.499-504
Main Authors: Barrett, Rowan D H, Laurent, Stefan, Mallarino, Ricardo, Pfeifer, Susanne P, Xu, Charles C Y, Foll, Matthieu, Wakamatsu, Kazumasa, Duke-Cohan, Jonathan S, Jensen, Jeffrey D, Hoekstra, Hopi E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agouti gene
Agouti Signaling Protein - genetics
Alleles
Animals
Changing environments
Color
Coloration
Evolution
Evolution & development
Fitness
Gene Frequency
Genetic diversity
Genetic variance
Genotype
Genotypes
Hair Color - genetics
Laboratory Experiments
Light
Melanins - analysis
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Mice, Transgenic
Mutation
Natural selection
Nebraska
Peromyscus - genetics
Phenotype
Phenotypes
Pigmentation
Pigmentation - genetics
Population genetics
Predators
Proteins
Reproductive fitness
Selection, Genetic
Sequence Deletion
Survival
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Summary: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, , by using experimental enclosures of mice on different soil colors. Next, we show how a mutation in 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.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.aav3824