Peculiarities of Inheriting Coat Colour Shades in the Breed “Golden Retriever”

The Article describes the peculiarities of colour shades in the Golden Retriever breed. The separate attention was given to nowadays existence of different standards of coat colour in this breed across the world, and these standards admit a broad variety of different shades in golden colour. Herewith it has been established that the white pigmentation colour of golden retrievers is unallowable in any of “Kennel Club” standards valid for today. The special focus was put to the genotype of breed, which presupposes the existence of double recessive gene (e/e) that predetermines creamy shade of coat colour. It was discovered that exactly the gene MC1R, its autosomal-recessive inheritance, plays the leading role in defining the coat colour of dogs and in the exterior of the breed. It was assumed how and why this genotype is widespread in population, at which extent sub-populations are distinguished (American and English-European ones), and also there was the option offered related to breeding the pure line on the basis of knowledge about karyotype of dogs, that were obtained in a course of predicative screening of E-locus.

Ieskats kaķu vārdu izvēles motivācijā

Onomasticians tend to focus not only on toponyms and anthroponyms, but also on zoonyms. This article gives an insight into cat names and the motivation for their choice. At the end of 2020, the author of this article made a questionnaire about cat names, posted this questionnaire on the social network Facebook, and received an unexpectedly large number of responses from people ‒ 19,592 questionnaires were submitted. The main focus of the questionnaire was placed on the motivation to choose cat names, as the motivations for choosing the same name can be very different, even completely opposed. The social and economic study of zoonyms enables us to identify the most important factors in choosing cat names, avoiding as many hypothetical or even erroneous conclusions as possible. A significant part of the analysed material consists of felynonyms motivated by the appearance of the cat: coat colour (Cukurs) (white), Kurmis (black), Oreo (black and white), Grejs (grey), Mango (red)), appearance in general or individual details (eyes (Poga), ears (Betmens), whiskers (Ūšuks), paws (Pepija), any special feature (Ķēpa) or defects (Bočelli)). The situation how the cat enters the family also plays an important role; where the cat is found (Dīzelis, Barons); who brings or finds the cat (Pičus); who it is bought from (Dekāns). The choice of felynonyms is also determined by other factors, such as the cat's behaviour and temper (Tors, Skrāpīte); accident or single action (Neptūns, Džampers); matching names (Dolārs and Mārciņa, Ansis and Grieta); the name of another real animal (Cimdiņš, Dadzis); cat breed or its name (Kilimandžāro, Boriss); originality (Deficīts, Punkasens); owner's profession, position, occupation (Karmena, Pikselis); interests, hobbies (Akords, Eminems); travel (Forints, Turcis); unfulfilled dreams and longing (Haskijs, Lote) or even several factors at once (Zaļģis, Notārs). People naming cats have chosen words that already exist in the language as names for their pets and have made various occasional words, showing the unlimited horizons of human imagination (Mimeļmops, Irokejs). The collected material is the first such extensive summary of cat names. It can also serve as a source of inspiration for everyone to choose a name for their new pet.

Equine vitiligo-like depigmentation in grey horses is related to genes involved in immune response and tumor metastasis

Background In horses, the autoimmune disease vitiligo is characterized by the loss of melanocytes and results in patchy depigmentation of the skin around the eyes, muzzle and the perianal region. Vitiligo-like depigmentation occurs predominantly in horses displaying the grey coat colour and is observed at a prevalence level of 26.0–67.0% in grey horses compared with only 0.8–3.5% in non-grey horses. While the polygenetic background of this complex disease is well documented in humans, the underlying candidate genes for this skin disorder in horses remain unknown. In this study we aim to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for identifying putative candidate loci for vitiligo-like depigmentation in horses. Methods In the current study, we performed a GWAS analysis using high-density 670 k single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data from 152 Lipizzan and 104 Noriker horses, which were phenotyped for vitiligo-like depigmentation by visual inspection. After quality control 376,219 SNPs remained for analyses, the genome-wide Bonferroni corrected significance level was p < 1.33e-7. Results We identified seven candidate genes on four chromosomes (ECA1, ECA13, ECA17, ECA20) putatively involved in vitiligo pathogenesis in grey horses. The highlighted genes PHF11, SETDB2, CARHSP1 and LITAFD, are associated with the innate immune system, while the genes RCBTB1, LITAFD, NUBPL, PTP4A1, play a role in tumor suppression and metastasis. The antagonistic pathogenesis of vitiligo in relation to cancer specific enhanced cell motility and/or metastasis on typical melanoma predilection sites underlines a plausible involvement of RCBTB1, LITAFD, NUBPL, and PTP4A1. Conclusions The proposed candidate genes for equine vitiligo-like depigmentation, indicate an antagonistic relation between vitiligo and tumor metastasis in a horse population with higher incidence of melanoma. Further replication and expression studies should lead to a better understanding of this skin disorder in horses.

The evolutionary pathways for local adaptation in mountain hares

Understanding the evolution of local adaptations is a central aim of evolutionary biology and key for the identification of unique populations and lineages of conservation relevance. By combining RAD sequencing and whole-genome sequencing, we identify genetic signatures of local adaptation in mountain hares (Lepus timidus) from isolated and distinctive habitats of its wide distribution: Ireland, the Alps and Fennoscandia. Demographic modelling suggested that the split of these mountain hares occurred around 20 thousand years ago, providing the opportunity to study adaptive evolution over a short timescale. Using genome-wide scans, we identified signatures of extreme differentiation among hares from distinct geographic areas that overlap with area-specific selective sweeps, suggesting targets for local adaptation. Several identified candidate genes are associated with traits related to the uniqueness of the different environments inhabited by the three groups of mountain hares, including coat colour, ability to live at high altitudes and variation in body size. In Irish mountain hares, a variant of ASIP, a gene previously implicated in introgression-driven winter coat colour variation in mountain and snowshoe hares (L. americanus), may underlie brown winter coats, reinforcing the repeated nature of evolution at ASIP moulding adaptive seasonal colouration. Comparative genomic analyses across several hare species suggested that mountain hares' adaptive variants appear predominantly species-specific. However, using coalescent simulations we also show instances where the candidate adaptive variants have been introduced via introgressive hybridization. Our work shows that standing adaptive variation, including that introgressed from other species, was a crucial component of the post-glacial dynamics of species.

Typology and Characteristics of Indigenous Goats and Production Systems in Different Agro-Ecological Zones of Tanzania

A study was conducted in all agro-ecological zones in Tanzania to characterize the indigenous goat populations. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 688 randomly selected adult female goats. A total of 220 households were interviewed for description of production system. Income generation and meat production were the primary objectives of rearing goats across all the study areas. More than 55% of respondents grazed their animals freely in communal lands where natural pasture was the chief feed resource. Mating was mainly uncontrolled with apron and castration being used by goat keepers as mating control methods. Common diseases were contagious caprine pleural pneumonia and helminthiasis but majority had access to veterinary services and vaccinated their animals regularly. Feed shortage, prevalence of diseases, and water scarcity were the major constraints to goat production. There were morphological variations between and within these goat populations and discriminant analysis clustered the goats into two groups based on quantitative data. Most individuals from Ujiji, Newala, and Tanga goats were correctly classified into their source population, while misassignment was high for other populations. High twinning was observed in Ujiji and Lindi goats and low for Sukuma. The dominant coat color was plain white in Pare, Gogo, Maasai and Tanga. Other coat colour patterns were mixed black and white for Sukuma, reddish-brown for Lindi, black and reddish-brown for Ujiji, white and reddish-brown for Pwani and Maasai. Within and between variation observed is important as it can be used as a basis for genetic improvement through selection and/or crossbreeding.

Whole-genome sequencing of endangered Zhoushan cattle suggests its origin and the association of MC1R with black coat colour

Zhoushan cattle are an endangered cattle breed in the Zhoushan islands in China. Since Zhoushan cattle have been bred in isolation, they show unique characteristics, such as dark black coat colour. However, no studies have been conducted on the genome of Zhoushan cattle. Here, we performed whole-genome sequencing of seven individuals of Zhoushan cattle and nine cattle in Wenling, geographically close to the Zhoushan islands. By integrating our data and publicly-available data, we found that Zhoushan cattle are genetically highly similar to Bos indicus cattle in south-eastern China. Furthermore, by identifying the genomic regions shared between Zhoushan cattle and Angus cattle, a Bos taurus breed, we found that the p.F195L mutation in melanocyte-stimulating hormone receptor (MC1R) could be associated with their dark black coat colour. Taken together, our results provide a valuable resource for characterising the uniqueness of Zhoushan cattle.

VaSDC1 Is Involved in Modulation of Flavonoid Metabolic Pathways in Black and Red Seed Coats in Adzuki Bean (Vigna angularis L.)

Seed coat colour is an important nutritional quality trait. Variations in anthocyanins and flavonoids induce the diversity of seed coat colour in adzuki bean (Vigna angularis L.). Red seed coat and black seed coat are important adzuki bean cultivars. Insights into the differences of flavonoid metabolic pathways between black and red adzuki bean are significant. In this study, we explored that the difference in seed coat colour between the red (Jingnong6) and the black (AG118) is caused by the accumulation of anthocyanins. The RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq) and real-time reverse transcription (qRT)-PCR results showed that the Vigna angularis L. seed coat color (VaSDC1) gene, an R2R3-MYB transcription factor, should be the key gene to regulate the black and red seed coat colours. In three different colouring staes of seed development, VaSDC1 was specifically expressed in the black seed coat (AG118) landrace, which activates the structural genes of flavonoid metabolic pathways. As a result, this caused a substantial accumulation of anthocyanins and created a dark blue-black colour. In the red (Jingnong6) seed coat variety, low expression levels of VaSDC1 resulted in a lower accumulation of anthocyanins than in AG118. In addition, VaSDC1 was genetically mapped in the interval between simple-sequence repeat (SSR) markers Sca326-12, Sca326-4, and BAgs007 on chromosome 3 using an F4 segregating population derived from the cross between Jingnong6 and AG118. These results will facilitate the improvement of nutritional quality breeding in adzuki beans.

Identifying Behavioural Traits and Underlying Personality Dimensions in Domestic Ferrets (Mustela putorius furo)

The aim of this study was to examine the personality structure of domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) by using owner-based reporting of personality traits. A total of 743 ferret owners participated in an online questionnaire, with a total of 1029 ferrets being assessed. Respondents rated 67 adjectives based on their ferret(s) behavioural traits and personality. Principal component analysis (PCA) of these trait ratings identified four underlying personality dimensions, which accounted for 47.1% of the total variance. These were labelled according to the traits that they encompass: Extraversion, Sociability, Attentiveness, and Neuroticism. Details about ferret sex, de-sexing status, age, and coat colour were also sought, and General Linear Mixed Models were used to test the main effects of these characteristics on the personality dimensions. It was found that sex (p < 0.01) and age (p < 0.001) significantly influenced certain personality components, whereas de-sexing did not. Sociability, Attentiveness, and Neuroticism were found to differ based on sex, whereby males were rated as more sociable than females, but females were rated higher on the Attentiveness and Neuroticism subscales. Finally, Extraversion was found to generally decrease with age. We can use the findings of this study to make cross-species comparisons and further inform the discussion regarding the adaptive relevance of animal personality. Identifying differences in personality types can improve welfare by using this information to satisfy the different needs of individuals.