THE MYSTERIOUS BLACK TIGER
The Similipal Tiger reserve is popular for the numerous sightings of pseudo-melanistic tigers. Genetic mutants that spot unusually wide and merged stripes, were extremely rare even when tigers were plentiful centuries ago. India’s National Center for Biological Sciences sequenced the genomes of three zoo-born black tigers and their typical-coated parents and they succeeded in tracking the reason for the pattern . The change in colour & pattern of stripes is due to the single base mutation in the gene Transmembrane Aminopeptidase Q (Taqpep). Altered taqpep genes were already known to cause blotched tabby patterns in cats. But such patterns are so rare because they occur only when genes from both parents have matching mutations. Tigers surveyed outside the reserve had not even one copy of the mutation.This suggests that the Similipal tigers are so isolated that they never breed with tigers outside that range and that the group has begun to maintain genet...