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White Tiger Mystery Solved: Coat Color Produced by Single Change in Pigment Gene.

May 23, 2013 — White tigers today are only seen in zoos, but they belong in nature, say researchers reporting new evidence about what makes those tigers white.

Their spectacular white coats are produced by a single change in a known pigment gene, according to the study, appearing on May 23 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.

"The white tiger represents part of the natural genetic diversity of the tiger that is worth conserving, but is now seen only in captivity," says Shu-Jin Luo of China's Peking University.

Luo, Xiao Xu, Ruiqiang Li, and their colleagues advocate a proper captive management program to maintain a healthy Bengal tiger population including both white and orange tigers.

They say it might even be worth considering the reintroduction of white tigers into their wild habitat.

The researchers mapped the genomes of a family of 16 tigers living in Chimelong Safari Park, including both white and orange individuals.

They then sequenced the whole genomes of each of the three parents in the family.