Data from: 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 natural selection on pigmentation traits and an underlying
pigment locus, Agouti, by using experimental enclosures of mice on
different soil colors. Next, we show how a mutation in Agouti 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.