An enhancer of Agouti contributes to parallel evolution of cryptically colored beach mice.

ABSTRACT: Identifying the genetic basis of repeatedly evolved traits provides a way to reconstruct their evolutionary history and ultimately investigate the predictability of evolution. Here, we focus on the oldfield mouse (Peromyscus polionotus), which occurs in the southeastern United States, where it exhibits considerable color variation. Dorsal coats range from dark brown in mainland mice to near white in mice inhabiting sandy beaches; this light pelage has evolved independently on Florida's Gulf and Atlantic coasts as camouflage from predators. To facilitate genomic analyses, we first generated a chromosome-level genome assembly of Peromyscus polionotus subgriseus. Next, in a uniquely variable mainland population (Peromyscus polionotus albifrons), we scored 23 pigment trait

SUBMITTER: Wooldridge TB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9271204 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature