The Genetic Basis of White Tigers
Open accessAbstract
The white tiger, an elusive Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) variant with white fur and dark stripes, has fascinated humans for centuries ever since its discovery in the jungles of India. Many white tigers in captivity are inbred in order to maintain this autosomal recessive trait and consequently suffer some health problems, leading to the controversial speculation that the white tiger mutation is perhaps a genetic defect. However, the genetic basis of this phenotype remains unknown. Here, we conducted genome-wide association mapping with restriction-site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) in a pedigree of 16 captive tigers segregating at the putative white locus, followed by whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of the three parents. Validation in 130 unrelated tigers identified the causative mutation to be an amino acid change (A477V) in the transporter protein SLC45A2. Three-dimensional homology modeling suggests that the substitution may partially block the transporter channel cavity and thus affect melanogenesis. We demonstrate the feasibility of combining RAD-seq and WGS to rapidly map exotic variants in nonmodel organisms. Our results identify the basis of the longstanding white tiger mystery as the same gene underlying color variation in human, horse, and chicken and highlight its significance as part of the species' natural polymorphism that is viable in the wild.
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White tigers are not albinistic but exhibit partial leucism, a defect in a pigment cell.
“Though white, this is not albinism but partial leucism, a defect in a pigment cell [28,30].”
From Tiger colour morphs in zoos raise conservation and welfare concerns (2026) · cites this paper as [28]
The Results and Discussion section says white tigers are not true albinos: pheomelanin is largely absent, but eumelanin remains in their eyes and stripes. It attributes the coloration to an SLC45A2 mutation affecting pigmentation, but does not call it partial leucism or describe it as a defect in a pigment cell. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredWhite, golden and snow tiger colour morphs are caused by recessive genes or alleles.
“Recessive genes or alleles cause these changes in fur pigmentation [28,29].”
From Tiger colour morphs in zoos raise conservation and welfare concerns (2026) · cites this paper as [28]
The Summary identifies the white-tiger trait as autosomal recessive, and Results and Discussion links it to an SLC45A2 mutation. The cited paper does not establish that golden or snow tiger morphs are caused by recessive alleles. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredWhite tigers result from a recessive gene that suppresses pheomelanin production, causing brown stripes and white coat colouration.
“White tigers are the result of a recessive gene that suppresses the production of pheomelanin, the pigment responsible for orange fur, causing the brown stripes and white coat colouration [28].”
From Tiger colour morphs in zoos raise conservation and welfare concerns (2026) · cites this paper as [28]
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A straightforward method for measuring the range of apparent density of microplastics.
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Ten inconvenient questions about plastics in the sea
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“…been associated with fertility (Killeen et al. 2014) and residual feed intake (Karisa et al. 2013) in cattle and with pigmentation in several other species including humans (Sturm 2009; Stefanaki et al. 2013; Morice-Picard et al. 2014), dogs (Wijesena and Schmutz 2015), and tigers (Xu et al. 2013).”
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“Previous studies in mammals (including humans) have reported that reduced expression of the SLC45A2 gene (parent A–derived) results in lower melanosomal pH and promotes the synthesis of pheomelanin in melanocytes (16, 19), leading to light or blonde skin or coat colors (20, 21).”
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“SLC45A2 encodes a transporter protein that mediates melanin synthesis, and rs28777 is amongst the SNPsmost strongly associated with pigmentation in humans [24], and other mammals [49].”
BackgroundHigh frequency of an otherwise rare phenotype in a small and isolated tiger population
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“Segregation of these color variants in captive tiger populations has permitted their genetic and molecular characterization (32, 33).”
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“Correspondingly, SLC45A2 gene has been identified to be responsible for the dilute phenotype in the cream horse [30], silver chicken [32] and white tiger [7], as well as the pale orange skin of medaka mutant strain [45].”
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“The red arrow indicates the location of the albino tiger mutation (A477V) [37].”
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“melanogaster [46] and silkworm [47]; shell color in pacific oyster [48]; and coat color in horse [49], tiger [50], and chicken [51].”
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“2008), discern the basis of adaptive traits from a genomic perspective (Cho et al. 2013; Xu et al. 2013), and inform restoration proposals (Driscoll et al.”
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Xu, X., Dong, G.-X., Hu, X.-S., Miao, L., Zhang, X.-L., Zhang, D.-L., Yang, H.-D., Zhang, T.-Y., Zou, Z.-T., Zhang, T.-T., Zhuang, Y., Bhak, J., Cho, Y. S., Dai, W.-T., Jiang, T.-J., Xie, C., Li, R., & Luo, S.-J.
- Affiliations
- Peking University (CN)
- Genome Research Foundation (KR)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Li, Ruiqiang
- Luo, Shu-Jin
- Venue
- Current Biology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2013-06
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1031-1035
- ISSN
- 0960-9822 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2066422189
- Cited by
- 212
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 15 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 9.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Current Biology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Scholarworks@UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › melanin and skin pigmentation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
- Keywords
- white tiger, Bengal tiger, Panthera tigris tigris, SLC45A2, melanogenesis, coat color, autosomal recessive inheritance, inbreeding, color polymorphism, restriction site-associated DNA sequencing, whole genome sequencing
- MeSH terms
- Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Female, Hair, Male, Molecular Sequence Data, Mutation, Pigmentation, Polymorphism, Genetic, Amino Acid Substitution, Membrane Transport Proteins, Tigers, Genome-Wide Association Study
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