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Animals
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Genetics of Coat Color in Animals
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Genetics of Coat Color in Animals

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Genetics and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 7843

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Phillip Sponenberg

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
Interests: coat color; mendelian genetics; livestock species; breed conservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Rebecca R. Bellone

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California—Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Interests: genetics of traits in the horse

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Coat color variation has been the target of investigation since genetics emerged as a scientific inquiry in the early 1900s. Coat color has long been fascinating to those associated with livestock and poultry, and documenting genetic mechanisms behind coat color variation has been helpful to many breeders. The earliest advances involved Mendelian methods that documented segregation ratios and genetic linkages. As a later development, homologies across species were increasingly focused upon, which greatly helped to define and document the loci of genetic control behind many coat colors. An essential part of this was an accurate definition and classification of coat colors. These all opened the door to many recent advances to more fully understand and document the genetic mechanisms involved in the production of variation in coat color of animals. These recent advances include molecular genetics, biochemical mechanisms, and microscopic and ultrastructural morphology. These details are especially powerful when combined with earlier descriptive and population approaches. These all spring from an ancient appreciation that coat color has had across many cultures for millennia. Papers are welcomed on all aspects of this long-standing field of inquiry that has seen so many recent advances.

Prof. Dr. Phillip Sponenberg
Prof. Dr. Rebecca R. Bellone
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • coat color
  • melanin
  • eumelanin
  • pheomelanin
  • genetics
  • molecular genetics

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 2481 KiB  
Article
Whole-Genome Resequencing−Based Qualitative Trait Locus Mapping Correlated yellow with the Mutant Color in Honeybees, Apis cerana cerana
by Shanshan Shao, Qiang Huang, Yalin Pei, Junyan Hu, Zilong Wang, Lizhen Zhang, Xujiang He, Xiaobo Wu and Weiyu Yan
Animals 2024, 14(6), 862; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14060862 - 11 Mar 2024
Viewed by 774
Abstract
The honeybee, Apis cerana cerana (Ac), is an important pollinator and has adapted to the local ecological environment with relevant coloration. The cuticle coloration of the brown (br) mutant is brown instead of black in wild−type individuals. Therefore, this [...] Read more.
The honeybee, Apis cerana cerana (Ac), is an important pollinator and has adapted to the local ecological environment with relevant coloration. The cuticle coloration of the brown (br) mutant is brown instead of black in wild−type individuals. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and characterize the gene responsible for the br mutation. Genome resequencing with allele segregation measurement using Euclidean distance followed by Lowess regression analysis revealed that the color locus linked to the mutation was located on chromosome 11. A 2−base deletion on exon 4 was identified in the g7628 (yellow) gene after genome assembly and sequence cloning. In addition, the cuticle color of the abdomen of worker bees changed from black to brown when a defect was induced in the yellow gene using short interfering RNA (siRNA); however, the survival rate did not decrease significantly. These results indicate that the yellow gene participated in the body pigmentation, and its defect was responsible for the br mutation. This study promotes the understanding of the molecular basis of body coloration in honeybees, enriching the molecular mechanisms underlying insect pigmentation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics of Coat Color in Animals)
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20 pages, 4384 KiB  
Article
Genome-Wide Association Studies Reveal Candidate Genes Associated with Pigmentation Patterns of Single Feathers of Tianfu Nonghua Ducks
by Grace Twumasi, Huazhen Wang, Yang Xi, Jingjing Qi, Liang Li, Lili Bai and Hehe Liu
Animals 2024, 14(1), 85; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14010085 - 26 Dec 2023
Viewed by 765
Abstract
In modern advanced genetics and breeding programs, the study of genes related to pigmentation in ducks is gaining much attention and popularity. Genes and DNA mutation cause variations in the plumage color traits of ducks. Therefore, discovering related genes responsible for different color [...] Read more.
In modern advanced genetics and breeding programs, the study of genes related to pigmentation in ducks is gaining much attention and popularity. Genes and DNA mutation cause variations in the plumage color traits of ducks. Therefore, discovering related genes responsible for different color traits and pigment patterns on each side of the single feathers in Chinese ducks is important for genetic studies. In this study, we collected feather images from 340 ducks and transported them into Image Pro Plus (IPP) 6.0 software to quantify the melanin content in the feathers. Thereafter, a genome-wide association study was conducted to reveal the genes responsible for variations in the feather color trait. The results from this study revealed that the pigmented region was larger in the male ducks as compared to the female ducks. In addition, the pigmented region was larger on the right side of the feather vane than on the left side in both dorsal and ventral feathers, and a positive correlation was observed among the feather color traits. Further, among the annotated genes, WNT3A, DOCK1, RAB1A, and ALDH1A3 were identified to play important roles in the variation in pigmented regions of the various feathers. This study also revealed that five candidate genes, including DPP8, HACD3, INTS14, SLC24A1, and DENND4A, were associated with the color pigment on the dorsal feathers of the ducks. Genes such as PRKG1, SETD6, RALYL, and ZNF704 reportedly play important roles in ventral feather color traits. This study revealed that genes such as WNT3A, DOCK1, RAB1A, and ALDH1A3 were associated with different pigmentation patterns, thereby providing new insights into the genetic mechanisms of single-feather pigmentation patterns in ducks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics of Coat Color in Animals)
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24 pages, 5116 KiB  
Article
Whole Genome Resequencing Reveals Selection Signals Related to Wool Color in Sheep
by Wentao Zhang, Meilin Jin, Zengkui Lu, Taotao Li, Huihua Wang, Zehu Yuan and Caihong Wei
Animals 2023, 13(20), 3265; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13203265 - 19 Oct 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1255
Abstract
Wool color is controlled by a variety of genes. Although the gene regulation of some wool colors has been studied in relative depth, there may still be unknown genetic variants and control genes for some colors or different breeds of wool that need [...] Read more.
Wool color is controlled by a variety of genes. Although the gene regulation of some wool colors has been studied in relative depth, there may still be unknown genetic variants and control genes for some colors or different breeds of wool that need to be identified and recognized by whole genome resequencing. Therefore, we used whole genome resequencing data to compare and analyze sheep populations of different breeds by population differentiation index and nucleotide diversity ratios (Fst and θπ ratio) as well as extended haplotype purity between populations (XP-EHH) to reveal selection signals related to wool coloration in sheep. Screening in the non-white wool color group (G1 vs. G2) yielded 365 candidate genes, among which PDE4B, GMDS, GATA1, RCOR1, MAPK4, SLC36A1, and PPP3CA were associated with the formation of non-white wool; an enrichment analysis of the candidate genes yielded 21 significant GO terms and 49 significant KEGG pathways (p < 0.05), among which 17 GO terms and 21 KEGG pathways were associated with the formation of non-white wool. Screening in the white wool color group (G2 vs. G1) yielded 214 candidate genes, including ABCD4, VSX2, ITCH, NNT, POLA1, IGF1R, HOXA10, and DAO, which were associated with the formation of white wool; an enrichment analysis of the candidate genes revealed 9 significant GO-enriched pathways and 19 significant KEGG pathways (p < 0.05), including 5 GO terms and 12 KEGG pathways associated with the formation of white wool. In addition to furthering our understanding of wool color genetics, this research is important for breeding purposes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics of Coat Color in Animals)
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Review

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21 pages, 3408 KiB  
Review
Spotting the Pattern: A Review on White Coat Color in the Domestic Horse
by Aiden McFadden, Micaela Vierra, Katie Martin, Samantha A. Brooks, Robin E. Everts and Christa Lafayette
Animals 2024, 14(3), 451; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14030451 - 30 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2714
Abstract
Traits such as shape, size, and color often influence the economic and sentimental value of a horse. Around the world, horses are bred and prized for the colors and markings that make their unique coat patterns stand out from the crowd. The underlying [...] Read more.
Traits such as shape, size, and color often influence the economic and sentimental value of a horse. Around the world, horses are bred and prized for the colors and markings that make their unique coat patterns stand out from the crowd. The underlying genetic mechanisms determining the color of a horse’s coat can vary greatly in their complexity. For example, only two genetic markers are used to determine a horse’s base coat color, whereas over 50 genetic variations have been discovered to cause white patterning in horses. Some of these white-causing mutations are benign and beautiful, while others have a notable impact on horse health. Negative effects range from slightly more innocuous defects, like deafness, to more pernicious defects, such as the lethal developmental defect incurred when a horse inherits two copies of the Lethal White Overo allele. In this review, we explore, in detail, the etiology of white spotting and its overall effect on the domestic horse to Spot the Pattern of these beautiful (and sometimes dangerous) white mutations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics of Coat Color in Animals)
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29 pages, 10449 KiB  
Review
Genetic and Phenotypic Characteristics of Belted Pig Breeds: A Review
by Samira Giovannini, Maria Giuseppina Strillacci, Alessandro Bagnato, Emidio Albertini and Francesca Maria Sarti
Animals 2023, 13(19), 3072; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13193072 - 30 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1647
Abstract
Belted pig breeds have unique, distinguishing phenotypic characteristics. This review summarises the current knowledge on pig breeds displaying a belted coat pattern. Belts of different widths and positions around the animal’s trunk characterise specific pig breeds from all around the world. All the [...] Read more.
Belted pig breeds have unique, distinguishing phenotypic characteristics. This review summarises the current knowledge on pig breeds displaying a belted coat pattern. Belts of different widths and positions around the animal’s trunk characterise specific pig breeds from all around the world. All the breeds included in the present paper have been searched through the FAO domestic animal diversity information system (DAD-IS), Every country was checked to identify all breeds described as having black or red piebald coat pattern variations. Advances in genomic technologies have made it possible to identify the specific genes and genetic markers associated with the belted phenotype and explore the genetic relationships between different local breeds. Thus, the origin, history, and production traits of these breeds, together with all the genomic information related to the mechanism of skin pigmentation, are discussed. By increasing our understanding of these breeds, we can appreciate the richness of our biological and cultural heritage and work to preserve the biodiversity of the world’s animals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetics of Coat Color in Animals)
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