Tiger eye or goat eye is a gene causing diluted eye color in horses. There are two variants, Tiger-eye 1 (TE1) and Tiger-eye 2 (TE2), which are both recessive.[1] Horses displaying tiger eye typically have a yellow, orange, or amber iris. Tiger eye has only been found in Puerto Rican Paso Fino horses. Horses of related breeds were tested (90 Colombian Pasos, 20 Mangalargas, 44 Lusitanos, and 42 Andalusian horses), and none were found to have either tiger eye allele. No obvious link between eye shade and coat color was seen, making this the first studied gene in horses to affect eye color but not coat color. Tiger eye does not appear to affect vision, and there were no signs of reduced pigment on the retina or retinal pigment epithelium.[2]
- ^ "Tiger Eye".
- ^ Mack M, Kowalski E, Grahn R, Bras D, Penedo MC, Bellone R (August 1, 2017). "Two Variants in SLC24A5 Are Associated with "Tiger-Eye" Iris Pigmentation in Puerto Rican Paso Fino Horses". G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics. 7 (8): 2799–2806. doi:10.1534/g3.117.043786. PMC 5555483. PMID 28655738.
- Christine Barakat; Mick Mccluskey (February 9, 2022). "Genetic basis for "tiger eye" identified". Equus.