Peromyscus as model organism for bridging evolutionary biology and disease model research

Peromyscus (deermice) has emerged as a uniquely powerful mammalian model system situated at the intersection of evolutionary biology, ecology, and biomedicine. Unlike traditional laboratory rodents Mus musculus or Rattus norvegicus, Peromyscus encompasses ecologically and genetically diverse, wild-derived populations distributed across North America, representing a natural laboratory for studying local adaptation, speciation, and physiological evolution. Peromyscus species serve as important natural reservoirs for the agents of several zoonotic diseases—including hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome and Lyme disease— rendering suitable models to study both their tolerance of these agents and how they spread to human populations. At the same time Peromyscus serve as comparative models for studying aging, cancer resistance, and complex social behaviors. The rapid expansion of omics resources, from genome assemblies to transcriptomic and epigenomic datasets, now makes Peromyscus an ideal system for bridging genetic, ecological and biomedical research areas, linking evolutionary insight with mechanistic disease modeling in the context of naturally derived wild populations.This Research Topic aims to connect and synergize the research communities that study Peromyscus from evolutionary, ecological, and biomedical perspectives. By highlighting interdisciplinary approaches that integrate genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and other omics data, this collection seeks to unify insights across evolutionary adaptation, host–pathogen coevolution, physiology, and disease resistance. The overarching goal is to catalyze collaborations between evolutionary biologists, geneticists, ecologists, and biomedical researchers, encouraging the cross-application of analytical frameworks, datasets, and experimental tools. Through this integrated focus, the Research Topic will illuminate how the same genomic architecture underlying local adaptation can inform translational research.To gather further insights into the biological versatility of Peromyscus, we welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:o Comparative and population genomics, local adaptation, and landscape geneticso Speciation, hybridization, and the genetics of different Peromyscus traitso Transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, or epigenomic profiling within and across species and environmentso Peromyscus as a natural reservoir for agents of human zoonoses, including hantavirus infections, Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, relapsing fever, and babesiosiso Comparative physiology, aging, cancer resistance, toxicology, and social or behavioral phenotypeso Genome assembly, annotation, and the development of genomic resources for Peromyscuso Methodological and computational innovations in Peromyscus omics researchBy uniting evolutionary and biomedical research communities under a shared scientific platform, this Research Topic seeks to advance the understanding of Peromyscus as a model for both fundamental biology and human-relevant disease processes—showcasing the integrative power of omics in this exceptional mammalian system. Topic editors: HIPPOKRATIS KIARIS, Alan G Barbour Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84315/peromyscus-as-model-organism-for-bridging-evolutionary-biology-and-disease-model-research