A genome-wide scan study identifies a single nucleotide substitution in MC1R gene associated with white coat colour in f
- PDF / 2,651,421 Bytes
- 8 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 19 Downloads / 155 Views
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
A genome-wide scan study identifies a single nucleotide substitution in MC1R gene associated with white coat colour in fallow deer (Dama dama) Gerald Reiner1,2* , Tim Weber1, Florian Nietfeld1, Dominik Fischer2, Christine Wurmser3, Ruedi Fries3 and Hermann Willems1
Abstract Background: The coat colour of fallow deer is highly variable and even white animals can regularly be observed in game farming and in the wild. Affected animals do not show complete albinism but rather some residual pigmentation resembling a very pale beige dilution of coat colour. The eyes and claws of the animals are pigmented. To facilitate the conservation and management of such animals, it would be helpful to know the responsible gene and causative variant. We collected 102 samples from 22 white animals and from 80 animals with wildtype coat colour. The samples came from 12 different wild flocks or game conservations located in different regions of Germany, at the border to Luxembourg and in Poland. The genomes of one white hind and her brown calf were sequenced. Results: Based on a list of colour genes of the International Federation of Pigment Cell Societies (http://www.ifpcs. org/albinism/), a variant in the MC1R gene (NM_174108.2:c.143 T > C) resulting in an amino acid exchange from leucine to proline at position 48 of the MC1R receptor protein (NP_776533.1:p.L48P) was identified as a likely cause of coat colour dilution. A gene test revealed that all animals of the white phenotype were of genotype CC whereas all pigmented animals were of genotype TT or TC. The study showed that 14% of the pigmented (brown or dark pigmented) animals carried the white allele. Conclusions: A genome-wide scan study led to a molecular test to determine the coat colour of fallow deer. Identification of the MC1R gene provides a deeper insight into the mechanism of dilution. The gene marker is now available for the conservation of white fallow deer in wild and farmed animals. Keywords: Fallow deer, White coat colour, MC1R, Next generation sequencing
* Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department for Veterinary Clinical Science, Justus-Liebig-University, Frankfurter Strasse 112, D-35392 Giessen, Germany 2 Arbeitskreis Wildbiologie e.V., Justus-Liebig-University, Giessen, Germany Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s). 2020 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statu
Data Loading...
