GEPHE SUMMARY Print
Gephebase Gene
Entry Status
Published
GepheID
GP00000063
Main curator
Martin
PHENOTYPIC CHANGE
Trait Category
Trait State in Taxon A
Felis catus - non-melanic
Trait State in Taxon B
Felis catus - melanic
Ancestral State
Taxon A
Taxonomic Status
Taxon A
Latin Name
Common Name
domestic cat
Synonyms
Felis domesticus; Felis silvestris catus; domestic cat; cat; cats; Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758; Korat cats L.
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... thostomata; Teleostomi; Euteleostomi; Sarcopterygii; Dipnotetrapodomorpha; Tetrapoda; Amniota; Mammalia; Theria; Eutheria; Boreoeutheria; Laurasiatheria; Carnivora; Feliformia; Felidae; Felinae; Felis
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon A an Infraspecies?
No
Taxon B
Latin Name
Common Name
domestic cat
Synonyms
Felis domesticus; Felis silvestris catus; domestic cat; cat; cats; Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758; Korat cats L.
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... thostomata; Teleostomi; Euteleostomi; Sarcopterygii; Dipnotetrapodomorpha; Tetrapoda; Amniota; Mammalia; Theria; Eutheria; Boreoeutheria; Laurasiatheria; Carnivora; Feliformia; Felidae; Felinae; Felis
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon B an Infraspecies?
No
GENOTYPIC CHANGE
Presumptive Null
Yes
Molecular Type
Aberration Type
Deletion Size
1-9 bp
Molecular Details of the Mutation
Deletion of nt 123-124
Experimental Evidence
Authors
Eizirik E; Yuhki N; Johnson WE; Menotti-Raymond M; Hannah SS; O'Brien SJ
Abstract
Melanistic coat coloration occurs as a common polymorphism in 11 of 37 felid species and reaches high population frequency in some cases but never achieves complete fixation. To investigate the genetic basis, adaptive significance, and evolutionary history of melanistic variants in the Felidae, we mapped, cloned, and sequenced the cat homologs of two putative candidate genes for melanism (ASIP [agouti] and MC1R) and identified three independent deletions associated with dark coloration in three different felid species. Association and transmission analyses revealed that a 2 bp deletion in the ASIP gene specifies black coloration in domestic cats, and two different "in-frame" deletions in the MC1R gene are implicated in melanism in jaguars and jaguarundis. Melanistic individuals from five other felid species did not carry any of these mutations, implying that there are at least four independent genetic origins for melanism in the cat family. The inferred multiple origins and independent historical elevation in population frequency of felid melanistic mutations suggest the occurrence of adaptive evolution of this visible phenotype in a group of related free-ranging species.
Additional References
EXTERNAL LINKS
COMMENTS
https://omia.org/OMIA000201/9685/
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