Genome analysis of American minks reveals link of mutations in Ras-related protein-38 gene to Moyle brown coat phenotype

Andrey D. Manakhov,Igor A. Andreev,Oleg V. Trapezov,Evgeny I. Rogaev,Maria Yu. Mintseva,Lev I. Uralsky,Tatiana V. Andreeva

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-72239-5

Abstract

Over 35 fur colours have been described in American mink (Neovison vison), only six of which have been previously linked to specific genes. Moyle fur colour belongs to a wide group of brownish colours that are highly similar to each other, which complicates selection and breeding procedures. We performed whole genome sequencing for two American minks with Moyle (m/m) and Violet (a/a m/m /p/p) phenotypes. We identified two frame-shift mutations in the gene encoding Ras-related protein-38 (RAB38), which regulates the trafficking of tyrosinase-containing vesicles to maturing melanosomes. The results highlight the role of RAB38 in the biogenesis of melanosomes and melanin and the genetic mechanism contributing to hair colour variety and intensity. These data are also useful for tracking economically valuable fur traits in mink breeding programmes.

Highlights

Over 35 fur colours have been described in American mink (Neovison vison), only six of which have been previously linked to specific genes
The RAB38 gene encodes the member of the Rab small G protein family, which is involved in intracellular vesicle trafficking and melanosome biogenesis[11]
The RAB38 gene is highly expressed in melanocytes, and RAB38 protein co-localizes with end-stage m elanosomes[12,13]

Summary

Introduction

Over 35 fur colours have been described in American mink (Neovison vison), only six of which have been previously linked to specific genes. The results highlight the role of RAB38 in the biogenesis of melanosomes and melanin and the genetic mechanism contributing to hair colour variety and intensity These data are useful for tracking economically valuable fur traits in mink breeding programmes. All brown phenotypes are inherited as recessive Mendelian traits and seem to be the result of mutations in different genomic loci. These phenotypes are highly similar to each other, which significantly complicates selection and b reeding[7]. Moyle is a light brown mink coat colour (Fig. 1) This phenotype is inherited as a Mendelian autosomal recessive trait, and three alleles were postulated: Moyle (m), Cameo (mc), and wild type (+). The present study investigated the genetic factors that determine the Moyle phenotype using whole-genome sequencing of minks with Moyle (m/m) and Violet (a/a m/m /p/p) fur colour (Fig. 1)

Methods

Results

Conclusion