Experimental competition induces immediate and lasting effects on the neurogenome in free-living female birds

Significance Social challenges are thought to be embedded in the genome, but little is known about how this adaptive modification of gene activity occurs in nature. We experimentally generated competition among free-living female tree swallows ( Tachycineta bicolor ) and measured both transcriptomic and epigenomic changes in the brain. Social competition rapidly altered gene expression and methylation, with effects that were enriched for...