Use of mammalian museum specimens to test hypotheses about the geographic expansion of Lyme disease in the southeastern United States.

Lyme disease, caused primarily in North America by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, is the most frequently reported vector-borne disease in North America and its geographic extent is increasing in all directions from foci in the northeastern and north central United States. Several southeastern states, including Virginia and North Carolina, have experienced large increases in Lyme disease incidence in the past two decades, with the biggest changes in incidence occurring in the western portion of each state. We tested the hypothesis that B.

A draft genome assembly for the eastern fox squirrel, Sciurus niger.

The eastern fox squirrel, Sciurus niger, exhibits marked geographic variation in size and coat color, is a model organism for studies of behavior and ecology, and a potential model for investigating physiological solutions to human porphyrias. We assembled a genome using Illumina HiSeq, PacBio SMRT, and Oxford Nanopore MinION sequencing platforms. Together, the sequencing data resulted in a draft genome of 2.

Multiple origins of melanism in two species of North American tree squirrel (Sciurus).

Background: While our understanding of the genetic basis of convergent evolution has improved there are still many uncertainties. Here we investigate the repeated evolution of dark colouration (melanism) in eastern fox squirrels (Sciurus niger; hereafter "fox squirrels") and eastern gray squirrels (S. carolinensis; hereafter "gray squirrels").

Melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene sequence variation and melanism in the gray (Sciurus carolinensis), fox (Sciurus niger), and red (Sciurus vulgaris) squirrel.

Sequence variations in the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene are associated with melanism in many different species of mammals, birds, and reptiles. The gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), found in the British Isles, was introduced from North America in the late 19th century. Melanism in the British gray squirrel is associated with a 24-bp deletion in the MC1R.