Data from: Recent natural selection causes adaptive evolution of an avian polygenic trait

We used extensive data from a long-term study of great tits (Parus major) in the United Kingdom and Netherlands to better understand how genetic signatures of selection translate into variation in fitness and phenotypes. We found that genomic regions under differential selection contained candidate genes for bill morphology and used genetic architecture analyses to confirm that these genes, especially the collagen gene COL4A5, explained variation in bill length. COL4A5 variation was associated with reproductive success, which, combined with spatiotemporal patterns of bill length, suggested ongoing selection for longer bills in the United Kingdom. Last, bill length and COL4A5 variation were associated with usage of feeders, suggesting that longer bills may have evolved in the United Kingdom as a response to supplementary feeding.我们利用英国与荷兰境内大山雀（Parus major）的长期研究项目所产生的海量数据，旨在更深入地解析选择的遗传印记如何转化为适合度与表型的变异。本研究发现，受差异化选择作用的基因组区域中存在与喙形态相关的候选基因；通过遗传结构分析，我们证实这些基因——尤其是胶原蛋白基因COL4A5——可解释喙长的变异情况。COL4A5的变异与繁殖成功率显著相关，结合喙长的时空分布模式，这表明英国地区正持续对更长喙型施加选择压力。最后，喙长与COL4A5的变异均与喂食器使用行为存在关联，这提示英国种群的更长喙型或许是为响应人工补充投喂而演化形成的。