Thalmann O, Fischer A, Lankester F, Paabo S, Vigilant L, Thalmann O, Fischer A, Lankester F, Paabo S, Vigilant L: The complex evolutionary history of gorillas: insights from genomic data. Vigilant L, Bradley BJ: Genetic variation in gorillas. 2007, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press Harcourt AH, Stewart KJS: Gorilla Society: conflict, compromise and cooperation between sexes. Robbins MM, Bermejo M, Cipolletta C, Magliocca F, Parnell RJ, Stokes E: Social structure and life-history patterns in western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Martínez-Arias R, Comas D, Andrés A, Abelló MT, Domingo-Roura X, Bertranpetit J: The tyrosinase gene in gorillas and the albinism of “Snowflake”. Grønskov K, Ek J, Brondum-Nielsen K: Oculocutaneous albinism.

Márquez M, Serafin A, Fernández-Bellon H, Serrat S, Ferrer-Admetlla A, Bertranpetit J, Ferrer I, Pumarola M: Neuropathologic findings in an aged albino gorilla. Sabater Pi J: An albino lowland gorilla from rio Muni, West Africa, and notes on its adaptation to captivity. Conclusions In this study we demonstrate how the use of whole genome sequencing can be extended to link genotype and phenotype in non-model organisms and it can be a powerful tool in conservation genetics (e.g., inbreeding and genetic diversity) with the expected decrease in sequencing cost. Finally, we provide a comprehensive study of genome-wide patterns of autozygogosity revealing that Snowflake’s parents were related, being this the first report of inbreeding in a wild born Western lowland gorilla. We provide experimental evidence that shows that this amino acid replacement alters the membrane spanning capability of this transmembrane region. This transporter is known to be involved in oculocutaneous albinism type 4 (OCA4) in humans. Results We successfully identified the causal genetic variant for Snowflake’s albinism, a non-synonymous single nucleotide variant located in a transmembrane region of SLC45A2. Here, we study the genetic cause of his albinism and making use of whole genome sequencing data we find a higher inbreeding coefficient compared to other gorillas. Despite previous efforts to explain the genetic cause, this is still unknown. white hair, light eyes, pink skin, photophobia and reduced visual acuity. He was diagnosed with non-syndromic oculocutaneous albinism, i.e.

“Quite often it is all about the chest beat and then they don’t fight,” he said, adding that could be because the males size each other up from the chest-beating and gauge which has the physical advantage.Abstract Background The only known albino gorilla, named Snowflake, was a male wild born individual from Equatorial Guinea who lived at the Barcelona Zoo for almost 40 years. The new study suggests that chest-beating could be a useful way for males to convey their size, something Wright said could help them to both win mates and avoid potentially dangerous fights. The team noted that larger body size in males had been linked to their reproductive success – both in terms of the number of females and number of offspring a male had – and their social rank among other males, something that suggests body size could be tied to their fighting prowess. However, the average peak frequency of the sound produced was – the larger the gorilla, the lower the frequency of the sound produced. The results revealed that the duration of the chest-beating, number of beats and the rate of the beats during an episode were not associated with the size of the gorilla. They then recorded 36 chest-beating episodes among these six males between November 2015 and July 2016, and analysed the recordings. The team used a camera setup involving two parallel green lasers a known distance apart to determine the breadth of each gorilla’s back from a photograph. Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, Wright and colleagues report how they studied chest-beating in six adult male mountain gorillas in the Volcanoes national park in Rwanda. “We found it is definitely a real, reliable signal – males are conveying their true size,” said Edward Wright, co-author of the research from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany.

Name of albino gorilla