Bond Donna M, Veale Andrew, Alexander Alana, Hore Timothy A
Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research, Lincoln, New Zealand.
R Soc Open Sci. 2024 Jul 31;11(7):240806. doi: 10.1098/rsos.240806. eCollection 2024 Jul.
The possession of fur or hair is a defining characteristic of mammals and can occur in a variety of colours and patterns. While genetic determinants of coat colour are well described in eutherian 'placental' mammals, the other major mammalian infraclass, marsupials, is grossly understudied. The fur of the common brushtail possum (), an iconic native mammal found throughout Australia and introduced into Aotearoa New Zealand, possesses two main colour morphs: grey and black. To identify genetic variants associated with coat colour, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) with genotype by sequencing (GBS) data. Single nucleotide variants (SNVs) on chromosome 3, close to the () gene that controls the temporal and spatial distribution of pigments in eutherian mammals, were identified. Fine-mapping identified a C>T variant at chr3:100483705 that results in a ASIP:p.Arg115Cys missense substitution, and animals homozygous for this variant have black fur. In addition to uncovering the first genetic determinant of coat colour in a natural marsupial population, comparative analysis of in divergent marsupial species identified the dasyurids as having accelerated evolution, reflecting their well described diversity of coat colour and pattern.
拥有皮毛是哺乳动物的一个决定性特征，其颜色和图案多种多样。虽然有袋类哺乳动物的另一主要下纲——真兽亚纲（“有胎盘”）哺乳动物的毛色遗传决定因素已有详尽描述，但对有袋类动物的研究却严重不足。帚尾袋貂是一种标志性的本土哺乳动物，在澳大利亚各地都有发现，并被引入新西兰，其皮毛有两种主要的颜色形态：灰色和黑色。为了确定与毛色相关的基因变异，我们利用测序基因分型（GBS）数据进行了全基因组关联研究（GWAS）。我们在3号染色体上靠近真兽亚纲哺乳动物中控制色素时空分布的（）基因处，鉴定出了单核苷酸变异（SNV）。精细定位在chr3:100483705处确定了一个C>T变异，该变异导致ASIP:p.Arg115Cys错义替换，该变异的纯合动物具有黑色皮毛。除了揭示自然有袋类动物种群中毛色的首个遗传决定因素外，对不同有袋类物种的比较分析表明，袋鼬科动物的进化加速，这反映了它们在毛色和图案方面的多样性，这一点已有详尽描述。
