PLoS Genetics Luo Shujin and Xu Xiao's group reveal the genetics and evolution of bird eye color diversity

On September 10, 2021, Luo Shujin's group from the School of Life Sciences, Peking University, State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking University-Tsinghua Life Sciences Joint Center and Zou Zhengting's group from the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences published a paper on PLoS Genetics.

The rich fur color/skin phenotype of vertebrates plays an important role in camouflage, sexual selection, inter-individual communication, and body temperature regulation.

Based on the whole genome sequencing and whole genome association analysis (GWAS) of 92 domestic pigeons, this study identified the pigeon white eye trait determining gene as the SLC2A11B nonsense mutation W49X

Based on the comparison and function prediction of the published bird SLC2A11B protein sequence, non-synonymous mutations affecting normal function were found in 6 birds lacking yellow pigment in the iris (eye color is blue or brown-black), which proves that SLC2A11B has a positive effect on yellow The possible conservative functions of eye traits and their role in the formation of bird eye color diversity

Genomic analysis revealed that the SLC2A11B loss-of-function mutation determines the white eye traits of domestic pigeons and is associated with bird eye color diversity (Si et al.

Associate researcher Si Si and Associate Researcher Xu Xiao from the 2016-level Ph.

Original link: https://journals.

Si S, Xu X, Zhuang Y, Gao X, Zhang H, Zou Z, Luo SJ.