Meeting Abstract

P1.54  Tuesday, Jan. 4  Mc1r does not play a major role in pigmentation variation among domestic pigeons MILLER, M.A.; SHAPIRO, M.D.*; Univ. of Utah; Univ. of Utah shapiro@biology.utah.edu

Feather color is spectacularly diverse among birds. Coloration is a major factor in mate choice among species of the columbid (pigeon and dove) family and thus has an important role in sexual selection. Coding changes in the Melanocortin 1 receptor (Mc1r) gene play a recurring role in evolutionary pigmentation changes in many vertebrates, including birds in which plumage color is involved in mate choice. We investigated the role of Mc1r in the rock pigeon, a species with a stunning range of color phenotypes across over 350 different domestic breeds. We sequenced the coding region of Mc1r from multiple color morphs and breeds and found three non-synonymous mutations, one of which (Val85Met) is closely associated with plumage polymorphism in other avian species. However, we did not find an association between this amino acid substitution and plumage polymorphism in pigeons. Since SNPs in this “usual suspect” gene are not associated with color variation, we are likely to find novel chromosome regions and genes that control pigmentation diversity by studying pigeons.