Linking a mutation to survival in wild mice

Abstract

How natural selection affects mouse coat color Evolution, at its core, involves changes in the frequency of alleles subject to natural selection. But identifying the target of selection can be difficult. Barrett et al. investigated how allele frequencies affecting pigmentation change over time (see the Perspective by Pelletier). Wild-caught mice ( Peromyscus maniculatus ) were exposed to avian predators against naturally occurring dark or light backgrounds. Natural selection yielded shifts in coloration owing to genetic variants in the mouse coat color Agouti gene. Science , this issue p. 499 ; see also p. 452