Roan, ticked and spotted coat patterns in the canine are associated with a novel coat patterning region on canine CFA38

White coat patterning is a feature of many dog breeds
and is known to be coded primarily by the gene Micropthalmia-associated
transcription factor (MITF). This patterning in the coat can be modified by
other factors to produce the attractive patterns termed “ticked” and “roan” that both
describe the presence of flecks of color that vary in distribution and
intensity within otherwise “clear” white
markings. The appearance of the pigment in the white markings caused by ticking and roaning intensifies in the weeks after birth. We applied
genome-wide association to compare English cocker spaniels of roan phenotype (N=34) with parti-color
English cocker spaniels (N=9) and
identified an associated locus on CFA 38.