Department of Biology, Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah.
Department of Chemistry, Fujita Health University School of Health Sciences, Toyoake, Japan.
Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2019 Sep;32(5):634-642. doi: 10.1111/pcmr.12778. Epub 2019 Mar 21.
The domesticated rock pigeon (Columba livia) has been bred for hundreds of years to display an immense variety of ornamental attributes such as feather color and color patterns. Color is influenced by multiple loci that impact the type and amount of melanin deposited on the feathers. Pigeons homozygous for the "recessive red" mutation, which causes downregulation of Sox10, display brilliant red feathers instead of blue/black feathers. Sox10 encodes a transcription factor important for melanocyte differentiation and function, but the genes that mediate its promotion of black versus red pigment are unknown. Here, we present a transcriptomic comparison of regenerating feathers from wild-type and recessive red pigeons to identify candidate SOX10 targets. Our results identify both known and novel targets, including many genes not previously implicated in pigmentation. These data highlight the value of using novel, emerging model organisms to gain insight into the genetic basis of pigment variation.
经过数百年的驯化，家鸽（Columba livia）表现出了各种各样的观赏特性，如羽毛颜色和颜色图案。颜色受多个影响黑色素在羽毛上沉积类型和数量的基因座影响。Sox10 基因的“隐性红色”突变会导致 Sox10 下调，使鸽子表现出鲜艳的红色羽毛，而不是蓝色/黑色羽毛。Sox10 编码一种对黑素细胞分化和功能很重要的转录因子，但介导其促进黑色和红色色素的基因尚不清楚。在这里，我们对来自野生型和隐性红鸽的再生羽毛进行了转录组比较，以鉴定候选的 SOX10 靶标。我们的结果鉴定了已知和新的靶标，包括许多以前与色素沉着无关的基因。这些数据突出了使用新出现的新兴模式生物来深入了解色素变异的遗传基础的价值。
