Harlequin

[rabbitgirl]

Sorry Pam, but the subject fascinates me....

Today I saw a 10-wk.-old baby Harlequin, lilac and fawn. The owner andI got talking rabbits and he said the Harlequin is hard to breed trueto color.

Is the gene recessive? Any info about Harlequins in general?

Rose

 

[pamnock]

rabbitgirl wrote:

Sorry Pam, but the subject fascinates me....

Today I saw a 10-wk.-old baby Harlequin, lilac and fawn. The owner andI got talking rabbits and he said the Harlequin is hard to breed trueto color.

Is the gene recessive? Any info about Harlequins in general?

Rose

The Harlequin (Brindled)gene "ej"is recessive tothe full extension "E" and the steel "Es" genes.(Althoughthe dominant genes may allow some expression of the"ej" gene evident by slight mismarkings orbanding).The "ej"gene is dominant to thenon-extension gene.

While the Harlequin pattern is not hard to achieve,especiallywith the gene being present in many breeds, the*perfect* pattern is a challenge. The owner may have alsobeen referring to the fact that the lilac/fawn Japanese Harlequin is adifficult color as it requires the recessive blue and chocolate genesto produce it, so it is a less common color.



Pam

 

[rabbitgirl]

What's an extension gene, or a full extension?

I think you're right, he meantthe Japanese pattern is the difficult one to achieve.

Thanks again!

Rose

 

[pamnock]

There are different gene series that havedifferent effects on the coat. The "E" series controlsextension of color on the hair shaft. In this series thesteel gene "Es" is dominant. It shows it's effects primarilyon the agouti coat. The full extension gene "E" is next inthe series. It allows the normal amount of pigment on thecoat. Next in the series is the gene that gives a brindledeffect to the coat, "ej". It is the gene that gives theHarlequin pattern and shows it's effects best on the agouticoat. The non-extension gene (most recessive in the series)stops the full extension of black pigment up the hair shaft giving ashaded appearance to the coat, such as in the tortoiseshell coatcolor. It's effects are most desirable on the selfcoat. Combined with the tan pattern gene, it producesunshowable colors such as the tort otter. In combination withthe agouti gene, it can produce "frosty" colors such as Carolyn's"Fauna".



Pam

 

[Carolyn]

pamnock wrote:

Combined with the tan pattern gene, it produces unshowablecolors such as the tort otter. In combination with the agoutigene, it can produce "frosty" colors such as Carolyn's "Fauna".



Pam

 

[Delphinum]

*can feel all of her biology lessons coming back*

Do a table Pam... that makes it easier for me! LOL

Like B = Black, W = White



BB xBB WW xWW Bb x Bb

BBWW?? Okay now I'm lost... I think BB... Oh dear, all thosehours of genetics didn't help me at all! :? SorryMr Chips!

 

[pamnock]

The punnet square for rabbit coat color geneticsgets a little complicated, but if you give me a specific color you'dlike me to genotype, I can write it out for you. Also, if weare just referring to one gene series, I can demonstrate the recessivex dominant outcome.

The genotype for a Japanese black/orange harlequin rabbit (for example)would be as follows(the blanks in the genotype are therecessive unknowns):

A_B_C_D_ej ej Du_ en en Si_ V_ W_

"A" because the harlequin is an agouti coat pattern

"B" for black (as opposed to the recessive "b" chocolate)

"C" for full color (as opposed to the lower C series genes which remove red pigment from the coat)

"D" for the Dilute series (recessive d is for blue)

"ej" is the recessive gene that produces the harlequin coat color

"Du" is the Dutch allele. The normal non-dutchis dominant

"en" is the English Spotting gene. The normal self isrecessive. English Spotting is a dominant trait"En". A Harlequin with the English Spotting gene is aTri-Color

"Si" is the silvering series. The silvered coat is a recessive trait "si".

"V" is for the Viennese White (blue eyed white). It is a recessive trait "v".

"W" is the wide gene which gives breeds such as the Tan avery red belly and red agouti markings. It is a recessivetrait "w"



Of course there are also all the coat structure genes: furless, angora,rex, satin, waved and maned that could also be added to that genotype.



Pam

 

[Delphinum]

Wow!:shock: That's fantasticPam! Could you then... theoretically... determinewhat would happen if I crossed Henry with Max? He's a Rex (helooked originally like a Lynx, but has changed over time to being morebrown) and Max is a black and white Dutch.

I too find it fascinating and it must take so much time to learnit. Could you breed any type of rabbit you wantedthen? Andthe colour you wanted? I assumeyou could, butI remember something about the recessive genesbeing bred together isn't too good... can't remember why though...

 

[pamnock]

I'm getting ready to leave, so don't have muchtime . . . Is Max pictured in your avatar? (He appears fawncolored). Bred with a black Dutch - the color you'd mostlikely get is Chestnut aka Castor aka Gray with various forms of Dutchmarkings. There are actually about 40 different colorpossibilities with that breeding, so it's helpful to knowtheancestry of the rabbits you are breeding. Byknowing the genotype of your rabbits and being able to fill in the"unknowns", you can very accurately predict the outcome of the litter.

For instance, if Max is indeed a fawn (the rabbit in the avatar) and hecarries the recessive self gene, you could also get black.



Pam

 

[Carolyn]

Bringing this back for Lanna.

-Carolyn

 

[rabbitgirl]

genetics are wild stuff!

Rose

 

[lanna21974]

Thanks Carolyn for bringing this thread back.Seems that the Harlequin genetics are similar if not the same asnetherland dwarfs. I really havent concentrated on any part of thegenotype other than the ABCD and E genes. Anything more than that iswayyyyyyyy too complicated for me. I do know that if one of Chloe'skitsis blue otter then it will help me figure out more ofChloe's and Bossy's genotype. Thanks.

Lanna

 

[pamnock]

While modifiers may varyregulatingintensity of color or placement of pattern, the color genetics forrabbits are the same in all breeds.

Pam

 

[Delphinum]

pamnock wrote:

I'mgetting ready to leave, so don't have much time . . . Is Max picturedin your avatar? (He appears fawn colored). Bred with a blackDutch - the color you'd most likely get is Chestnut aka Castor aka Graywith various forms of Dutch markings. There are actuallyabout 40 different color possibilities with that breeding, so it'shelpful to know theancestry of the rabbits you arebreeding. By knowing the genotype of your rabbits and beingable to fill in the "unknowns", you can very accurately predict theoutcome of the litter.

For instance, if Max is indeed a fawn (the rabbit in the avatar) and hecarries the recessive self gene, you could also get black.



Pam

I just saw this... Henry's the one in the avatar (Max is a girl, wethought she was a boy)... but that doesn't matter... Is Rex furdominant? Or does it depend on the rabbit whether it is ornot. It'd be so cute to have little dutch rex's!I'd love to try it out, but I won't! LOL Max isonly 5 months old and isn't the strongest rabbit in the world, so Iwouldn't put her through it.

Thanks for the info Pam, it's really interesting!

 

[pamnock]

Delphinum wrote:

I just saw this... Henry's the one in the avatar (Max is a girl, wethought she was a boy)... but that doesn't matter... Is Rex furdominant? Or does it depend on the rabbit whether it is ornot. It'd be so cute to have little dutch rex's!I'd love to try it out, but I won't! LOL Max isonly 5 months old and isn't the strongest rabbit in the world, so Iwouldn't put her through it.

Thanks for the info Pam, it's really interesting!

Rex fur is a recessive trait (there is actually more than one known rexfur gene). I love the Dutch rabbits and the Mini Rex coats --a Dutch Mini Rex would be one of my "perfect dream rabbits" LOL

Pam