Genome wide association analyses
GWAS analyses on dispersal phenotype revealed a single genomic region that has been linked to regulation of diverse biological functions (Figure 4). The top SNP in this region was SNPa105044 which explained 3.8% of the variance in dispersal probability (Supplementary Table S2). SNPa105044 is located 16 Kbp downstream from Adenosine Receptor A2a (ADORA2A) and 22 Kbp upstream from Beta-Ureidopropionase (UPB1) on chromosome 15 in the house sparrow genome. ADORA2A encodes a member of the G protein-coupled receptor superfamily that is involved in increasing intracellular cAMP levels, and is a regulator of functions including sleep cycles, cardiac rhythm and circulation, immune function, and pain regulation (NCBI), as well as glycogenesis (González-Benítez, Guinzberg, Díaz-Cruz, & Pia, 2002). UPB1 encodes a highly conserved protein that catalyzes a late step in the nucleic acid pyrimidine degradation leading to biosynthesis of beta-alanine in animals (Matthews, Liao, Kvalnes-Krick, & Traut, 1992). In humans, UPB1 deficiency is associated with neurological problems (Dobritzsch et al., 2022; Van Kuilenburg et al., 2004), and beta-alanine supplementation has been shown to increase performance during intense exercise by acid-buffering of the blood (Hobson, Saunders, Ball, Harris, & Sale, 2012; Milioni et al., 2019).