研究人员表示，人们对病原体的进化和新的疾病菌株的出现有很多了解，但对宿主的抵抗力以及它如何向其他个体发出信号并随后维持的情况了解较少。黑毛狼（Canis lupus）在整个北美洲的频率呈阶梯状，这被认为是与犬瘟热病毒（CDV）的爆发有关。
研究人员使用来自北美各地狼群的横断面数据对这一假设进行了测试，这些狼群在CDV和使皮毛变黑的等位基因方面存在差异，黄石国家公园的纵向数据以及建模。研究人员发现，CDV爆发的频率会产生波动的选择，导致杂合子优势，进而影响黑色等位基因的频率、最佳交配行为和整个大陆的黑狼渐变群。
附：英文原文
Title: Disease outbreaks select for mate choice and coat color in wolves
Author: Sarah Cubaynes, Ellen E. Brandell, Daniel R. Stahler, Douglas W. Smith, Emily S. Almberg, Susanne Schindler, Robert K. Wayne, Andrew P. Dobson, Bridgett M. vonHoldt, Daniel R. MacNulty, Paul C. Cross, Peter J. Hudson, Tim Coulson
Issue&Volume: 2022-10-21
Abstract: We know much about pathogen evolution and the emergence of new disease strains, but less about host resistance and how it is signaled to other individuals and subsequently maintained. The cline in frequency of black-coated wolves (Canis lupus) across North America is hypothesized to result from a relationship with canine distemper virus (CDV) outbreaks. We tested this hypothesis using cross-sectional data from wolf populations across North America that vary in the prevalence of CDV and the allele that makes coats black, longitudinal data from Yellowstone National Park, and modeling. We found that the frequency of CDV outbreaks generates fluctuating selection that results in heterozygote advantage that in turn affects the frequency of the black allele, optimal mating behavior, and black wolf cline across the continent.
DOI: abi8745
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abi8745