OMIA:002884-31155 : Skin colour, PMEL-related in Vipera berus (adder) |
In other species: Nile tilapia , corn snake
Categories: Pigmentation phene
Links to possible relevant human trait(s) and/or gene(s) in OMIM: 155550 (gene)
Single-gene trait/disorder: yes
Mode of inheritance: Probably autosomal recessive
Disease-related: no
Key variant known: yes
Year key variant first reported: 2026
Species summary: Casillas et al.: "V. berus exhibits a range of dorsal color patterns spanning from zig-zag to complete melanism. However, a unique longitudinal dorsal stripe pattern was recently discovered in the isolated Gossa Island (∼45 km2) population of Norway, where ∼5% of snakes exhibit this distinct pattern instead of the common dorsal zig-zag pattern."
Molecular basis: Casillas et al. (2026) combined "low-depth whole-genome shotgun sequencing and pairwise FST genome scanning. [The authors] discovered a moderately sized, significantly differentiated genomic region containing five associated genes, including the premelanosome gene (PMEL) that encodes a well-known transmembrane glycoprotein that is a key component of melanosome organelles. [The authors} implicate a functionally relevant variant in the encoded premelanosome protein" [omia.variant 1909].
Associated gene:
| Symbol | Description | Species | Chr | Location | OMIA gene details page | Other Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PMEL | premelanosome protein | Vipera berus | 2 | NC_138203.1 (153088098..153068398) | PMEL | Ensembl, NCBI gene |
Variants
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WARNING! Inclusion of a variant in this table does not automatically mean that it should be used for DNA testing. Anyone contemplating the use of any of these variants for DNA testing should examine critically the relevant evidence (especially in breeds other than the breed in which the variant was first described). If it is decided to proceed, the location and orientation of the variant sequence should be checked very carefully.
Since October 2021, OMIA includes a semiautomated lift-over pipeline to facilitate updates of genomic positions to a recent reference genome position. These changes to genomic positions are not always reflected in the ‘acknowledgements’ or ‘verbal description’ fields in this table.
| OMIA Variant ID | Breed(s) | Variant Phenotype | Gene | Allele | Variant Type | Variant Effect | Source of Genetic Variant | AVCG Pathogenicity Classification* | Reference Sequence | Chr. | g. or m. | c. or n. | p. | Verbal Description | EVA ID | Year Published | PubMed ID(s) | Acknowledgements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1909 | Colour patter, dorsal stripe | PMEL | substitution | missense | Naturally occurring variant | Not currently evaluated | 2 | KN633923.1:g.55190G>A | p.(G206S) | 2026 | 42360275 |
* Variant pathogenicity for single-gene diseases as evaluated according to the Animal Variant Classification Guidelines (AVCG) by the Variant Pathogenicity Working Group of the International Society of Animal Genetics (ISAG) Animal Genetic Testing Standardization (AGTS) Standing Committee: P = pathogenic, LP = likely pathogenic, VUS = variant of unknown significance, LB = likely benign, B = benign. For more information (including details on the classification of each variant) see LINKS.
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Cite this entry
Nicholas, F. W., Tammen, I., & Sydney Informatics Hub. (2026). OMIA:002884-31155: Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (OMIA) [dataset]. https://omia.org/. https://doi.org/10.25910/2AMR-PV70
References
Note: the references are listed in reverse chronological order (from the most recent year to the earliest year), and alphabetically by first author within a year.
| 2026 | Casillas, N., Petersen, B., Martin, S.L.F., Ophus, K.H., Bringsøe, H., Brealey, J.C., Bieker, V.C., Morin-Lagos, J., Dolmen, D., Madsen, T., Nielsen, R., Allentoft, M.E., Cerca, J., Martin, M.D. : |
| Genome scanning reveals the genetic basis of a color pattern morphotype in an island population of the European adder (Vipera berus). Genome Biol Evol 18:evag144, 2026. Pubmed reference: 42360275. DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evag144. | |
| 2020 | Hills, L, Lewis, B, Hills, R : |
| Dorsal stripe polymorphism of Vipera berus in south-east England The Herpetological Bulletin 153:26-28, 2020. DOI: 10.33256/hb153.2628. |
Edit History
- Created by Imke Tammen on 02 Jul 2026
- Changed by Imke Tammen on 02 Jul 2026