Data and code for: Disease outbreaks select for mate choice and coat color in wolves

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 across North America is hypothesized to result from a relationship with canine distemper virus (CDV) outbreaks. We test 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. The frequency of CDV outbreaks generates fluctuating selection that results in heterozygote advantage that in turn impacts the frequency of the black allele, the optimal mating behavior, and the black wolf cline across the continent.

我们对病原体演化与新型病害毒株的出现已有较为充分的认知，但针对宿主抗性、抗性向其他个体的传递机制，以及抗性的后续维持方式，相关研究仍较为匮乏。学界假说提出，北美境内黑毛狼频率的渐变分布，源于其与犬瘟热病毒（canine distemper virus, CDV）暴发的关联。本研究依托两类数据与建模分析对该假说开展验证：一是北美各地CDV流行率与黑毛等位基因频率存在差异的灰狼种群横断面数据，二是黄石国家公园的纵向追踪数据。犬瘟热病毒的暴发频率可产生波动选择压力，进而形成杂合子优势，该过程又会对黑毛等位基因的频率、最优交配行为，以及整个北美大陆的黑毛狼渐变分布造成影响。