1. Characterization of the rabbit agouti signaling protein (ASIP) gene: Transcripts and phylogenetic analyses and identification of the causative mutation of the nonagouti black coat colour
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Lionel Forestier, Vincenzo Russo, Ahmad Oulmouden, Séverine Deretz-Picoulet, Daniel Allain, Terence J. Robinson, Luca Fontanesi, Elena Pecchioli, Cristiano Vernesi, Francesca Beretti, Emilio Scotti, Jason L. Malaney, Sezione di Allevamenti Zootecnici, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna (UNIBO), Unité de Génétique Moléculaire Animale (UGMA), Université de Limoges (UNILIM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Station d'Amélioration Génétique des Animaux (SAGA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Génétique Expérimentale en Productions Animales (GEPA), Research and Innovation Centre, Edmund Mach Foundation (FEM), Department of Botany and Zoology, Evolutionary Genomics Group, Stellenbosch University, Museum of Southwestern Biology and Department of Biology, The University of New Mexico [Albuquerque], Unité de Génétique Moléculaire Animale (UMR GMA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Limoges (UNILIM), Fontanesi L., Forestier L., Allain D., Scotti E., Beretti F., Deretz-Picoulet S., Pecchioli E., Vernesi C., Robinson T.J., Malaney J.L., Russo V., and Oulmouden A.
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Coat ,GENE EXPRESSION ,Genotype ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,DNA Mutational Analysis ,Molecular Sequence Data ,rabbit ,Locus (genetics) ,transcription analysis ,Biology ,oryctolagus cuniculus ,03 medical and health sciences ,Exon ,Signaling proteins ,Genetics ,Animals ,Allele ,lagomorpha ,Gene ,Alleles ,Phylogeny ,030304 developmental biology ,Melanins ,0303 health sciences ,Phylogenetic tree ,integumentary system ,Pigmentation ,0402 animal and dairy science ,Wild type ,04 agricultural and veterinary sciences ,Sequence Analysis, DNA ,040201 dairy & animal science ,Molecular biology ,Mutation ,agouti ,Agouti Signaling Protein ,Rabbits ,Hair ,coat colour - Abstract
The agouti locus encodes the agouti signalling protein (ASIP) which is involved in determining the switch from eumelanin to pheomelanin synthesis in melanocytes. In the domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) early studies indicated three alleles at this locus: A, light-bellied agouti (wild type); at, black and tan; a, black nonagouti. We characterized the rabbit ASIP gene and identified the causative mutation (an insertion in exon 2) of the black nonagouti allele whose frequency was evaluated in 31 breeds. Phylogenetic analysis of ASIP sequences from Oryctolagus and 9 other species of the family Leporidae placed Oryctolagus as sister species to Pentalagus and Bunolagus. Transcription analysis in wild type agouti rabbits revealed the presence of two major transcripts with different 5′-untranslated regions having ventral or dorsal skin specific expression. ASIP gene transcripts were also detected in all examined rabbit tissues distinguishing the rabbit expression pattern from what was observed in wild type mice.
- Published
- 2010
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