Fig. 2. Structural variation at the ASIP locus in domestic dogs with different colour patterns.

a, Genomic context (NCBI annotation release 105, CanFam3.1 assembly). Numbers in blue indicate previously reported variant associations—i (ref. ¹⁶), ii (ref. ³²) and iii (ref. ¹⁷)—referred to in the Discussion and in Extended Data Fig. 2. b, The canine ASIP gene has three alternative promoters and 5′-non-coding exons (nucleotide coordinates denote their 3′-ends. Structural variation within 1.5-kb sections of the ventral- and hair cycle-specific promoters explains five different colour patterns in dogs. Two different VP haplotypes and five different HCP haplotypes are schematically indicated. The asterisk represents the third promoter and non-coding exon that is not related to ASIP pattern variation as described in the text and Fig. 1. c, Summary of how extended haplotype combinations are related to colour pattern phenotypes. Semiquantitative ASIP expression levels are depicted with one or two arrows or an X for no expression (Extended Data Fig. 1).