Melanin and Methylation: Preliminary Insights into DNA Methylation and Coat Color Variation in Alaskan Coastal Wolves (Canis lupus ligoni)

In this preliminary study, we investe genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in black (N=48) and gray (N=99) Alexander Archipelago wolves (Canis lupus ligoni) - a distinct subspecies of gray wolf inhabiting the coastal mainland and islands of Southeast Alaska (USA) and British Columbia (Canada) (Figure 1). Our objective was to determine whether differentially methylation regions (DMRs) exist between black and gray color morphs. We found that coat color variation was linked to 880 DMRs and that black wolves showed global hypomethylation, but locus specific hypermenthylation at 93% of DMRs.