In other species: Japanese medaka , axolotl , dark-spotted frog , Japanese wrinkled frog , Tufted capuchin , Rhesus monkey , hamadryas baboon , dog , red fox , domestic ferret , domestic cat , lion , ass (donkey) , pig , red deer , American bison , taurine cattle , rabbit , golden hamster , Mongolian gerbil , domestic guinea pig , Japanese ratsnake , ball python , water buffalo , four-striped grass mouse , ocelot gecko , American mink , Japanese raccoon dog , Rice frog

Categories: Pigmentation phene , Vision / eye phene

Links to possible relevant human trait(s) and/or gene(s) in OMIM: 203100 (trait) , 606952 (trait) , 606933 (gene)

Mendelian trait/disorder: yes

Mode of inheritance: Autosomal recessive

Disease-related: yes

Key variant known: yes

Year key variant first reported: 2012

Cross-species summary: Congenital lack of pigment in most parts of the body. Due to a non-functional form of the enzyme tyrosinase. Also known as oculocutaneous albinism (OCA), acromelanism and as the Himalayan coat-colour pattern

History: As reported by Polanowski et al. (2012), "In 1991, an all white humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) was observed near Byron Bay, New South Wales and has since been referred to in the media and scientific literature as “Migaloo.” This is the only documented occurrence of an anomalously white humpback whale (Forestell et al. 2001)."

Molecular basis: From analysis of "sequence variation at exon 1 of the tyrosinase gene in 66 humpback whale samples collected from the east coast of Australia, including an anomalously white humpback whale known as “Migaloo”", Polanowski et al. (2012) reported "a cytosine deletion that results in a premature stop codon in exon 1. The deletion truncates the tyrosinase protein including the putative catalytic domains that are essential for tyrosinase enzymatic activity. Migaloo was homozygous for this deletion, suggesting that the albino phenotype is a consequence of inactive tyrosinase caused by the frameshift in the tyrosinase gene."

Associated gene: