MC1R

Molecular evolution of the melanocortin 1-receptor pigmentation gene in rodents

G. L. Gonçalves, Paixão-Côrtes, V. R., and Freitas, T. R. O., Molecular evolution of the melanocortin 1-receptor pigmentation gene in rodents, vol. 12, pp. 3230-3245, 2013.

Adaptive variation in the melanocortin 1-receptor gene (MC1R), a key locus in melanogenesis, has been identified in some species of rodents. However, in others, MC1R has no causative role in pigmentation phenotypes despite their coat color variation. In this study, we characterized the rates and patterns of MC1R nucleotide and amino acid sequence evolution and, particularly, selective pressures in the separated domains of the protein using a comparative analysis of 43 species representing three major lineages of rodents with variable coat colors.

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