Genotyping Rabbits

Genotyping Rabbits: The Basics-Page 2

By Shelly Whelan

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By using the suggested procedure, 5 animals were evaluated to determine genotype. The information recorded was sex, name, color of sire and dam, color of rabbit, and all alleles possible were filled in. The first evaluation yielded the following information:
1) Ely is solid orange over the body (ee) with a white belly (A). Upon close inspection, he also had bright blue tips on his ears (D and dd).
2) Sara is REW (cc). This is all that is known about her just from looking at her.
3) Tabatha is white with pink eyes, but has color on her nose, ears, feet and tail (c^h). The marking color is black (B and D) but is banded, and she also has white under her tail, inside her ears, and around her nostrils (A).
4) Rina is a solid (aa) black (B and D). It can not be determined whether she is C or cw, nor can E^s or E be distinguished.
5) Nina is also a solid black, so she is also aa B and D and C and E alleles are not distinguishable. This yields the first chart shown below.

Sex	Identification	(Sire & Dam)	Color	A	B	C	D	E
Buck	Ely	(Fawn & REW)	Blue Fawn	A	B	C	dd	ee
Doe	Sara	(REW & REW)	REW			cc
Doe	Tabatha	(Himi & Sara)	Pointed White	A	B	ch	D	E
Doe	Rina		Black	aa	B		D
Doe	Nina	(Chestnut & Rina)	Black	aa	B		D

To fill the list in more completely, information from the parents and offspring is used first, and then information from siblings, pedigrees, and finally herd records can finish out the list. For example, Ely's mother was a REW, so he must carry c. When Ely and Sara were crossed, the resulting litter of 11 contained 5 REW, 2 black, and 4 chestnuts. This means that in addition to the c which Ely was already known to carry, he also carries a since he sired a black offspring (aa). Sara also is now known to carry a, but whether she is Aa or aa cannot be determined. She is most likely also DD and EE since there were no dd or ee offspring in the litter, as would have been expected if she carried these recessives.
Since Sara is also the mother of Tabatha, this could add information to the genotype. Since Sara is cc, Tabatha must have one c. Tabathaís father was a solid pointed white (aa BB chch DD EE), so Sara must be Aa since both solid and agouti pointed whiteís occurred in this litter.
Nina is Rina's daughter, and her father was Aa Bb Cc^w DD Ee. The litter Nina was born in also contained chinchillas, steels, and chocolates, as well as blacks. This means that both parents were Bb, and additionally that Rina has E^s since she passed this on. From the parental genotype, we see that Nina could have received either B or b, C or cw, and could be E^sE, EE, E^se, or Ee so nothing is recorded for these columns.
On examining pedigrees, there is no family history of chocolate, dilute, or extended for Sara and Tabatha, so here they are both assumed to be BB DD EE. This is the form after all analysis is completed.

Sex	Identification	(Sire&Dam;)	Color	A	B	C	D	E
Buck	Ely	(Fawn & REW)	Blue Fawn	Aa	BB	Cc	dd	ee
Doe	Sara	(REW & REW)	REW	Aa	BB	cc	DD	EE
Doe	Tabatha	(Himi & Sara)	Pointed White	Aa	BB	chc	DD	EE
Doe	Rina		Black	aa	Bb	Ccw	DD	EsE
Doe	Nina	(Chestnut & Rina)	Black	aa	B?	??	D?	??

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Agouti
Chestnut Agouti	A-	B-	C-	D-	E-
Opal (Blue Agouti)	A-	B-	C-	dd	E-
Chocolate Agouti	A-	bb	C-	D-	E-
Lynx (Lilac Agouti)	A-	bb	C-	dd	E-
Chinchilla	A-	B-	cw*	D-	E-
Squirrel (Blue Chin.)	A-	B-	cw*	dd	E-
Chocolate Chinchilla	A-	bb	cw*	D-	E-
Lilac Chinchilla	A-	bb	cw*	dd	E-
Extended Agouti
Fawn	A-	B-	C-	D-	ee
Blue Fawn	A-	B-	C-	dd	ee
Chocolate Fawn	A-	bb	C-	D-	ee
Lilac Fawn	A-	bb	C-	dd	ee
Frost (Ermine)	A-	B-	cw*	D-	ee
Blue Frost	A-	B-	cw*	dd	ee
Chocolate Frost	A-	bb	cw*	D-	ee
Lilac Frost	A-	bb	cw*	dd	ee
Self
Black	aa	B-	¥-	D-	E-
Blue	aa	B-	¥-	dd	E-
Chocolate	aa	bb	¥-	D-	E-
Lilac	aa	bb	¥-	dd	E-
Ruby eyed white	--	--	cc	--	--
Blue eyed white	--	--	cc	--	--	VV
Shaded
Tort	aa	B-	C-	D-	ee
Blue Tort	aa	B-	C-	dd	ee
Chocolate Tort	aa	bb	C-	D-	ee
Lilac Tort	aa	bb	C-	dd	ee
Smoke	aa	B-	cw*	D-	ee
Blue Smoke	aa	B-	cw*	dd	ee
Chocolate Smoke	aa	bb	cw*	D-	ee
Lilac Smoke	aa	bb	cw*	dd	ee
Other
Steel	A-	--	¥-	--	Es*
Pointed White	--	--	ch*	--	--
Broken	--	--	--	--	--	Br*

More Colors

¥ Means either C or c^w would produce a similar color.

Smokes are recognized and shown in ARBA shows as Frosted Pearls.

©Mystic Elegance Rabbitry 1984-2003, No part of this document may be reprinted without permission from the author.

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