Agouti和MC1R是控制动物毛色的两个重要候选基因，本项目拟在前期已获得狐狸Agouti和MC1R基因部分序列、变异位点及其与被毛颜色相关研究结果的基础上，进一步以赤狐、银黑狐、蓝狐等为研究对象，研究不同被毛颜色狐狸皮肤组织中Agouti和MC1R基因mRNA差异表达特征、两基因所编码ASIP和MC1R蛋白差异表达及表达定位特征，同时研究两基因非翻译区结构特点（包括Agouti基因5'非翻译区外显子1剪接体的变异特征），进而研究两基因启动子区变异、3'非翻译区变异以及转录因子对基因表达的影响，解决狐狸Agouti和MC1R基因的结构特征、皮肤组织表达特征、转录因子调控特征及其相互关系等关键科学问题。研究成果不仅可以为揭示Agouti和MC1R基因调控狐狸被毛颜色分子遗传机制提供科学理论依据，同时对揭示狐狸被毛颜色的遗传多样性、提高不同裘用彩色狐种的分子育种具有重要的理论和实践意义。

Agouti and MC1R are two important candidate genes and play the important role in pigment synthesis in domestic animals. Based on partial sequencing, variation sites, and relationship between the polymorphism of Agouti gene and MC1R and the phenotype of coat color, this study takes red fox, silver fox and blue fox as the research objects, and continue to study the differential expression of Agouti mRNA and MC1R mRNA, the differential expression of ASIP and MC1R in skin of fox with different coat color, and differential expression of ASIP and MC1R in different areas of skin in the fox. Meanwhile, the structure variation of untranslated region of the two genes in different fox populatios with different coat colors will be analyzed (including the spliceosome variation of 5' untranslated regionin of Agouti gene). The effects of core promoter mutations, variation of 3' untranslated region and transcription factors on gene expression will be further studied. The results not only a theoretical basis will be provide for the formation mechanism of the fox coat color which result from Agouti and MC1R, but also have important theoretical and practical significance to reveal the genetic diversity of coat color and accelerate the breeding progress of excellent foxes.