Mapping of the Domestic Cat ‘‘SILVER’’ Coat Color Locus Identifies a Unique Genomic Location for Silver in Mammals

Authors

• Marilyn Menotti-Raymond, National Cancer Institute at Frederick
• Victor A. David, National Cancer Institute at Frederick
• Eduardo Eizirik, PUCRS - Brazil; Instituto Pro-Carnovoros - Brazil
• Melody E. Roelke, National Cancer Institute at Frederick
• Helya Ghaffari, National Cancer Institute at Frederick
• Stephen J. O'Brien, National Cancer Institute at FrederickFollow

ORCID

0000-0001-7353-8301

ResearcherID

N-1726-2015

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Heredity

ISSN

0022-1503

Publication Date

7-2009

Keywords

Coat color, Domestic cat, Genetic linkage mapping, Pheomelanogenic, SILVER

Abstract

The SILVER locus has been mapped in the domestic cat, identifying a unique genomic location distinct from that of any known reported gene associated with silver or hypopigmentation in mammals. A demonstrated lack of linkage to SILV, the strong candidate gene for silver, led to the initiation of a genome scan utilizing 2 pedigrees segregating for silver coat color. Linkage mapping defined a genomic region for SILVER as a 3.3-Mb region, (95.87–99.21 Mb) on chromosome D2, (peak logarithm of the odds = 10.5, θ = 0), which displays conserved synteny to a genomic interval between 118.58 and 121.85 Mb on chromosome 10 in the human genome. In the domestic cat, mutations at the SILVER locus suppress the development of pigment in the hair, but in contrast to other mammalian silver variants, there is an apparently greater influence on the production of pheomelanin than eumelanin pigment. The mapping of a novel locus for SILVER offers much promise in identifying a gene that may help elucidate aspects of pheomelanogenesis, a pathway that has been very elusive, and illustrates the promise of the cat genome project in increasing our understanding of basic biological processes of general relevance for mammals.

Volume

100

Issue

Suppl. 1

First Page

S8

Last Page

S13

Comments

©The American Genetic Association. 2009. All rights reserved.

Additional Comments

National Cancer Institute contract #: N01-CO-12400

NSUWorks Citation

Menotti-Raymond, Marilyn; Victor A. David; Eduardo Eizirik; Melody E. Roelke; Helya Ghaffari; and Stephen J. O'Brien. 2009. "Mapping of the Domestic Cat ‘‘SILVER’’ Coat Color Locus Identifies a Unique Genomic Location for Silver in Mammals." Journal of Heredity 100, (Suppl. 1): S8-S13. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cnso_bio_facarticles/464