Association of MC1R variation and plumage color diversity of Nigerian domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica)

Xiang-Xiang Jiang; Adeniyi Charles Adeola; Foluke Eunice Sola-Ojo; Ibraheem Atolagbe Abubakar; Isiaka Hannah Fatima; Ojuerayetan Judah Olaoluwa; Abdulwahab Barakat Abodurin; Olawale Abdulafeez Olasunkanmi; Oladejo Hafsat Abisola; Oladipo Uthman; Adeshina Esther Kehinde; Hussein Hamidat; Taiwo Eyitayo Nishola; Semiu Folaniyi Bello; Min-Sheng Peng; Ya-Ping Zhang

doi:10.5455/javar.2022.i604

Association of MC1R variation and plumage color diversity of Nigerian domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica)

J Adv Vet Anim Res. 2022 Sep 29;9(3):369-373. doi: 10.5455/javar.2022.i604. eCollection 2022 Sep.

Authors

Xiang-Xiang Jiang¹, Adeniyi Charles Adeola², Foluke Eunice Sola-Ojo³, Ibraheem Atolagbe Abubakar³, Isiaka Hannah Fatima³, Ojuerayetan Judah Olaoluwa³, Abdulwahab Barakat Abodurin³, Olawale Abdulafeez Olasunkanmi³, Oladejo Hafsat Abisola³, Oladipo Uthman³, Adeshina Esther Kehinde³, Hussein Hamidat³, Taiwo Eyitayo Nishola³, Semiu Folaniyi Bello⁴, Min-Sheng Peng², Ya-Ping Zhang²

Affiliations

¹ College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution Yunnan Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
³ Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
⁴ Department of Animal Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.

Abstract

Objectives: Domestic pigeons (Columba livia domestica) have diverse plumage pigmentations. Melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) gene variation has been correlated with color traits. The association between MC1R and plumage coloration in African domestic pigeons is yet to be investigated.

Materials and methods: Herein, we report the relationships between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in MC1R and plumage of 35 domestic pigeons from Nigeria with 4 different plumage phenotypes plus 37 published MC1R sequences from France (n = 14) and Russia (n = 11).

Results: We obtained 14 SNP sites among 72 individuals. Missense mutations C206T (Ser69Leu) and G253A (Val85Met) were observed in 16 and 8 Nigerian pigeons, respectively. The chi-squared test (p < 0.05) for C206T, G253A, and A520G has the advantage of homozygous genotypes CC, GG, and AA, respectively. The association of C206T loci showed the advantage of CC genotype in ash-red, spread, and white pigeons, and TT in blue-bar, spread, and white feather pigeons. For G253A and A520G loci, GG and AA were dominant in all plumages except for genotype AA in G253A, which was prominent in ash-red, spread, and white plumages. The three SNPs were assigned to seven haplotypes. The median-joining network revealed 20 haplotypes, including 5 in Nigeria and 2 shared.

Conclusion: This study provides an insight into the association of MC1R variation and plumage diversity in Nigerian domestic pigeons. However, due to the limitation of the current data, we could not make further conclusions; this necessitates the need for more genomics studies on Nigerian pigeons.

Keywords: MC1R; Missense mutations; Nigerian domestic pigeon; plumage; single nucleotide polymorphism.