Vitamin D status is heritable and under environment-dependent selection in the wild

Vitamin D has a well-established role in skeletal health and is
increasingly linked to chronic disease and mortality in humans and
companion animals. Despite the clear significance of vitamin D for health
and obvious implications for fitness under natural conditions, no
longitudinal study has tested whether the circulating concentration of
vitamin D is under natural selection in the wild. Here, we show that
concentrations of dietary-derived vitamin D and endogenously-produced
vitamin D metabolites are heritable and largely polygenic in a wild
population of Soay sheep (Ovis aries). Vitamin D status was positively
associated with female adult survival, and vitamin D status predicted
female fecundity in particular, good environment years when sheep density
and competition for resources was low. Our study provides evidence that
vitamin D status has the potential to respond to selection, as well as new
insights into how vitamin D metabolism is associated with fitness in the
wild.

维生素D（Vitamin D）在骨骼健康中的作用已得到广泛证实，且其与人类及伴侣动物的慢性疾病和死亡风险的关联日益受到关注。尽管维生素D对健康的重要性不言而喻，且在自然条件下对个体适合度具有显著影响，但目前尚无纵向研究探讨野生环境中维生素D循环浓度是否处于自然选择作用之下。本研究表明，在野生索伊羊（Ovis aries）种群中，膳食来源的维生素D与内源性生成的维生素D代谢物浓度均具有可遗传性，且整体上为多基因调控的性状。维生素D状态与成年母羊的存活率呈正相关；尤其在羊群密度较低、资源竞争缓和的环境优良年份，维生素D状态可预测母羊的繁殖力。本研究不仅证实维生素D状态具有响应选择的潜力，还为揭示野生环境中维生素D代谢与个体适合度的关联机制提供了新视角。