In other species: Tasmanian devil , common brushtail possum , gray wolf , coyote , dog , red fox , domestic cat , leopard , ass (donkey) , horse , pig , Arabian camel , llama , Western roe deer , impala , taurine cattle , goat , sheep , rabbit , tassel-eared squirrel , North American deer mouse , Mongolian gerbil , meadow voles , fallow deer , alpaca , leopard cat , oldfield mouse , Kodkod , Colocolo , Asiatic golden cat , Northern mole vole , Eurasian water mole

Categories: Pigmentation phene

Links to possible relevant human trait(s) and/or gene(s) in OMIM: 611742 (trait) , 600201 (gene)

Mendelian trait/disorder: yes

Mode of inheritance: Autosomal recessive

Disease-related: no

Key variant known: yes

Year key variant first reported: 2019

Cross-species summary: This locus, ASIP, encodes the agouti signalling protein, a peptide antagonist of the melanocyte-stimulating hormone receptor (MC1R), which is the product of the extension locus. As explained by Schneider et al. (PLoS Genet 10(2): e1004892; 2015), "The most common causes of melanism (black coat) mutations are gain-of-function alterations in MC1R, or loss-of function alterations in ASIP, which encodes Agouti signaling protein, a paracrine signaling molecule that inhibits MC1R signaling".

Inheritance: Lai et al. (2019) reported that their "results are consistent with the autosomal recessive mode of inheritance of the black‐coat‐colour phenotype in guinea pigs".

Molecular basis: Lai et al. (2019) discovered a "4‐bp deletion (c.181_184delTTCA) in exon 3 of ASIP gene [that] is completely associated with the black coat colour in guinea pigs." This deletion "leads to a truncated protein of 77 amino acids due to the premature stop codon."

Associated gene: