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Data for: High elevation adaptation is associated with functional changes in the immune response of deer mice

Wilsterman, Kathryn1; Butler, Chloe1

Research facility: Colorado State University
Published Mar 02, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.gtht76j0p

Data files

Mar 02, 2026 version files 85.56 MB

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Abstract

Adaptation to high altitude environments shapes whole organism physiology, but effects on the immune system are relatively understudied. These datasets, data processing scripts, and analyses evaluate whether local adaptation to high altitudes in the North American deer mouse (Peromsycus maniculatus) has led to differentiation in and differential function of the immune system. Deer mice derived from low and high altitude populations were bred in a common-garden environment and challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of bacterial cell walls. We collected data on the febrile response (fever) and acute phase response (body mass loss and anorexia) over 12 days following LPS challenge. We also collected data on phenotypic metrics and splenic tissue following an acute challenge with the same LPS dose. Together, these data and analyses demonstrate that low and high-altitude deer mice have diverged in their immune responses to a common challenge in ways that may be consequential for novel pathogen spread in high altitude environments.