Ψ KRT1 - Orcinus orca

Reference Gene:
Job_ID:
Curator:
GlossID Species Gene Loss Mechanism Loss Type Lineage Specific Evidence Accession Nr.
GL_NVIJBZ Orcinus orca Gene deletion Full No Genomic & Synteny maps

Statements

Type Excerpt DOI
Mutation Description "Nine keratin subfamilies were completely absent in cetaceans when compared to its terrestrial relative of artiodactylans, such as six type I genes (K10, K25, K27, K28, K33A, K33B) and three type II genes (K1, K73, K77)." 10.1186/s12983-017-0225-x
Methodology & Validation "We first identified α-keratin gene repertoires in the cow (Bos taurus) (coverage 7×,Btau_4.6.1) [...] taking all the known α-keratin gene sequences of human as queries using BLASTN and TBLASTN algorithm. [...] The putative α-keratin genes in the cow were then taken as queries to explore the α-keratin multigene family in the genome of 11 marine mammals, including [...] killer whale (Orcinus orca, coverage 200×, Oorc_1.1, NCBI)." 10.1186/s12983-017-0225-x
Phenotypic "Our results show an apparent reduction in the α-keratin gene repertoire and increased rate of pseudogenization in cetaceans when compared to terrestrial counterparts, which may be associated with their hairless phenotype." 10.1186/s12983-017-0225-x

Curator Observations

The authors named the keratins according to the human nomenclature. Gene not found in genomic maps-gene deletion (Fig1). This gene loss is likely to be Cetacea-specific according to the papers' data; however, as the authors don't provide sequence information.