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The Genetics of Equine Coat Color

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The Genetics of Equine Coat Color TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL SCIENCE EQUINE SCIENCES PROGRAM THE GENETICS OF EQUINE COAT COLOR D. Douglas Householder INTRODUCTION coat color. Early research in this area dealt exclusively with analysis of stud books, History observation of various matings with subsequent color foals produced, and then hypothesizing Great variation is present in horses of which genes were involved. Inaccurate records, today. There are large horses and small horses, foals changing colors, and lack of common color riding horses and driving horses, draft horses and descriptions among horsemen were also problems. race horses. There is, no doubt, a type of horse for Since the early 1940's; however, geneticists have almost every possible purpose. Although type and drawn on the more exacting information obtained performance ability are quite variable, they are not from planned experimentation with laboratory more variable than the colors of the horses. mammals. The close relationship is now evident and as a result many questions on equine color The ancestors of the domesticated horse can now be answered with reasonable certainty. did not vary much in color, but were chiefly of "wild type" coloration. This color was of great Genetics value in hiding these wild horses from their natural enemies. This concealing type of Inside the cells of all animals are found coloration can still be seen in the few Przewalkski chromosomes and genes. Chromosomes are paired horses, undomesticated and near extinction in thread-like structures which carry the genes. Each Mongolia in Central Asia. When some of these body cell contains a certain number of pairs of horses were domesticated some 4,000 years ago, it chromosomes (eg. horse - 32, man - 23). Genes is probable that some varying colors were are the units of inheritance which dictate what an preferred in selection and breeding. This breeding individual will look like. This outward expression, by color may have brought together some of the called phenotype, is a result of an animal's genetic recessive genes, eventually resulting in different makeup, called genotype. As chromosomes occur colored horses. Also, through the ages, mutations in pairs, so do genes. Two genes exist side by side, in these basic genes probably played a role in each on one of the chromosomes of a pair. An development of different colors. allele is one member of this pair of genes, or a partner gene. The specific position, where paired Ancient paintings and writings suggest genes are found, is called their loci. that color in horses has been variable for sometime. Spotted horses may have been present The genotype of a chestnut colored horse, as early as 1400-1300 B. C. as Egyptian tomb in this example, is written as paintings showed two horses so colored. In the AabbCCddEEggrrssww where each pair of letters Bible (Rev. 6) symbolic white, red, black and pale represents a pair of genes at a loci. Note within colored horses are mentioned. the pairs some genes are written with a capital letter; some with small letters. A capital letter means that particular gene is a strong or dominant Today there is disagreement among the gene while a small letter represents a weak or experts on many aspects of the genetics of equine recessive gene. Within the gene pairs within a genotype, three combinations are possible. There of palominos (Cccr), buckskins (Cccr), duns (Cccr), may be two dominant genes (EE), a dominant and cremellos (ccrccr), and perlinos (ccrccr) ;however, no a recessive gene, or two recessive genes. Usually conclusive evidence was presented. Singleton and when two dominant genes are present the second Bond (1966) adapted this ccr mutant theory to dominant one adds nothing. Exceptions to this are explain diluted colors in place of the dominant known though where two dominant genes are dilution theory forwarded by Castle (1947). twice as potent as one dominant gene. When a Singleton and Bond (1966) includes this proposed dominant and a recessive gene are present within ccr allele in writing horse genotypes. a pair, two expressions are possible. One, the dominant gene is dominant over the recessive B Series gene, called complete dominance; or two, the two express themselves in an intermediate fashion, In the horse, as other mammals, gene B called incomplete dominance. Lastly, two is responsible for the production of black pigment. recessive genes together either add nothing to the Theoretically if no modifier genes affected the phenotype or express themselves differently. intensity or distribution of black pigment, all Within a given genotype, several pairs of genes black horses (BB or Bb) would be the same color. work in combination to produce the animals' This is not the case. According to Salisbury phenotype. Usually certain genes modify only (1941), some horses are foaled jet black and hold slightly the expression of other genes; however in their color, while other horses, are foaled a mouse- some cases, one gene completely dominates all brown-gray, are black when kept stalled, but fade other genes. This is called epistasis. either to brown or red in intense sunlight. Some horses have localized black pigmentation in the BASIC COLOR GENES extremities. Examples are bays, some browns, buckskins, duns, grullas, and perlinos. In both of C Series these cases where black is changed, modifier genes (A, E and/or D) are operating in the The presence of eumelanin (black-brown) genotype. and/or phaeomelanin (red-yellow) pigments cause skin, coat and eye color in mammals. When gene Gene b, a recessive mutant of gene B, C is present, normal pigment formation reactions produces a rich brown pigmentation; therefore, occur; however, mutants of gene C result in horses with genotype bb are chocolate brown complete or partial albinism. In complete albinism colored called chestnut. This rich brown color is (cc), no pigment is formed. The hair is white, the different than the straight brown color resulting skin is pink and the eyes are red, due to the visible from the action of the at allele in the agouti series color of the blood. Some familiar examples of (Searle, 1968). As is true with gene B, gene b is complete albinos are white rabbits, rats, and mice. modified by the action of genes A, E and/or D. In some incomplete albinism cases, the skin, coat Their pigment diluting, restricting and/or and eye colors are the result of the actions of such extending actions, in conjunction with the bb gene C mutants as cch or cH. Mammals carrying genes, modifies chestnuts to certain types of these mutations are the Chinchilla rabbit (cchcch) browns, sorrels, claybank duns, palominos and and the Himalayan rabbit (cHcH). cremellos. Horse researchers are in general agreement that a dominant gene C is responsible A Series for presence of pigment in the skin, coat and eyes. Consequently, gene C is usually omitted when Gene A acts in conjunction with genes C writing horse genotypes. Horsemen often refer to and B to produce a concealing coat pattern known horses with light colored skin, hair and partially as agouti or "wild type". The characteristics of this or totally pigmented eyes as albinos; however, coat pattern are black pigment on the dorsal and according to Searle (1968), no well authenticated peripheral parts of the body and to particular parts case of complete albinism has ever been reported of the individual hairs. Familiar examples are the in the equine. The only gene C mutant proposed cottontail rabbit and the wolf. Loss of the wild in the horse was that of ccr (Odriozola,1951). He pattern results when gene A mutates to recessive postulated this allele was responsible for the color gene a. In homozygous form (aa), this gene pair causes an individual to be uniform in color. In in bay offspring. Further investigation is needed in rabbits, rodents and dogs, gene A has also this situation. undergone a second mutation to gene at. When homozygous (atat), this genotype causes black and Generally, geneticists have considered tan coloration. Traces of the agouti are still the various colors of duns (ABED) to be the result evident; however, in this pattern. of the wild pattern A gene in combination with the D and B genes. After the hypothesis of a possible Gene A, dominant to a, in horses is mutant, at, Castle and Singleton (1961) stated that responsible for bodies of one color and manes and the red or claybank dun, possessing a yellowish- tails of another. This wild type pattern was first brown body color with a dark spiral stripe, bars on noted in the Przewalski horses, the the legs and/or both, most likely carries an at, not undomesticated ancestor to modern horses. an A gene. The darker extremities in the Phenotypically this horse's body color is neutral claybank dun (atbbeeDd), as compared with the gray (mixed yellow and black pigments) with a palomino (AbbeeDd), are due to the presence of blackish mane and tail, blackish legs, and a dorsal the at gene, according to these authors. stripe (Castle, 1953). Castle and Singleton (1961) reported seeing horses with similar color on the E Series Argentina Pampas. According to Castle and Singleton (1961), the wild type pattern is seen In the horse, as in many other mammals, today in some domestic varieties. Examples are genes E, e and ED are present. Although three bays, buckskins, duns, grullas, perlinos, alleles are known to be present in this series, an palominos and sorrels with light manes and tails. individual can possess only two of them. Gene E The latter two have lighter manes and tails than permits black-brown pigment to be normally bodies due to the action of another gene on dark extended uniformly throughout the coat in the pigment, after it is concentrated in the manes and absence of A.
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