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Rabbit Color Basics

The Big Five.

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Now we get into our five basic gene series within rabbit color genetics!

If you are having any trouble with terminology or phrasing, please check out the PREVIOUS SECTION.

Basic Rabbit color genetics start with five main gene series. Within each series, there are several possible alleles that combine to create the overall Color and Pattern of the rabbit.  Remember that each gene series can only contain TWO alleles.  They are expressed in pairs in order of dominance.

To identify the different gene series, we use the letters A, B, C, D, and E.

An example of a genotype involving these five gene series we will use is what creates the "wild rabbit" color (also known as Chestnut Agouti).  It is homozygous - identical alleles - in all five gene series:

AA BB CC DD EE

When an allele is unknown for any reason, it is typically written as a blank "_".  This will occasionally happen when a dominant allele is expressed, since the second allele may be identical, or a hidden recessive. For example, if you only know the expressed Dominant allele within the A-series, then the pairing looks like:
"A_"

Now, let's get into these five different Series!  This may seem out of order, but going in this order will make MUCH more sense when you are learning the basics.

B-Series / Base Color

  This series determines the base color of the rabbit. EVERY rabbit is either black or chocolate based. Every other color/phenotype expressed is due to the influence of the other Gene Series.

  The two possible alleles, in order of dominance, within this series are "B" and "b"

 B - Black

 - This is the most dominant allele in the series.  Since it the the most dominant, rabbits that are black based can be either "BB" or "Bb".

 -  Black based rabbits may be solid Black, Chestnut Agouti, Black Otter, or even Blue varieties (blue is just a black based rabbit influenced by the Dilute gene (which we will get into).

 b - Chocolate

 - Recessive to black. Rabbits that are chocolate based can only be "bb". 

 - Chocolate based rabbits may be solid Chocolate, Chocolate Agouti, or Lilac varities (lilac is the dilute version of chocolate).

D-Series / Dilute Series / Intensity or Dilution

  This series determines the Intensity of the color expressed.

  The two possible alleles, in order of dominance, within this series are "D" and "d"

 D - Dense/Intense

 - This is the most dominant allele in the series.  Since it the the most dominant, rabbits that are fully dense/intense in color can be either "DD" or "Dd".

 -  Dense rabbits will have a base color that is at full intensity of their Black or Chocolate gene.

 d - Dilute

 - Recessive to the Dense allele, rabbits that are dilute can only be "dd". 

 - Dilution fades the base color of a rabbit.  So black based rabbits become blue based, and chocolate based rabbits become lilac based.

A-Series / Agouti Series / Pattern

  This series determines the hair shaft pattern.

  The three possible alleles, in order of dominance, within this series are "A", "at", and "a"

 A - Agouti

 - Most dominant allele in the series.  Since it is the most dominant, it only requires one copy of this allele in order to express itself.  That means an Agouti rabbit could be "AA", "Aat" or "Aa".

 - This allows for the banding on each hair shaft that you see in Chestnut Agoutis, Castors, and Chinchillas, to name a few common varieties. Because of the banding, when you blow into the fur of an Agouti rabbit you will see "rings" of the different colors.  Rabbits that express the Agouti pattern also have cream or white markings along their underside, around their eyes, in their nostrils, and on the inside of the ears.

 at - Tan-patterned / Otter

 - Recessive to Agouti, dominant over Self. Rabbits that express a Tan/Otter pattern can be "atat" or "ata". 

 - The base solid color of the rabbit covers most of the body, while the undercolor of the rabbit will be lighter. Tans/Otters will also have lighter markings along their underside, around their eyes, and in their nostrils and ears.  These rabbits do not have the banding on their hair shafts.

 a - Self

 - Self is the most recessive allele on this Series.  Rabbits will only be able to express the self pattern if they have two copies (are homozygous) for Self.  So Self rabbits will always be "aa" on the A-Series.

 - In a self rabbit, the base color will be extended throughout the hair shaft, making the rabbit appear to be a solid color.

C-Series / Color Expression Series

  This series determines how the color of the rabbit is expressed.

  The five possible alleles within this series are "C", "cchd", "cchl", "ch" and "c". One special thing about this series is that, although the rest are in order of dominance, "cchd" and "cchl" are actually "incompletely dominant" over each other, meaning that the two genes can affect the overall appearance of the rabbit simultaneously.

 C - Full Color Expression

 - This is the most dominant allele in this series.  Since it is the most dominant, it only requires one copy of this allele in order to express itself.  The possible pairings for full color expression can be "CC", "Ccchd", "Ccchl", "Cch" or "Cc".

 - With Full Color expression, the previous gene series effects are unaffected. This will allow for a normal amount of pigment to be expressed throughout the rabbit.

 cchd - Chinchilla Dark (Chinchilla)

 - Recessive to Full Color, incompletely dominant over Shaded (cchl), and dominant over the rest. Rabbits that express chinchilla appearance can be "cchdcchd", "cchdch" or "cchdc". If a rabbit is "cchdcchl", because the two alleles are incompletely dominant over each other, the rabbit might look anywhere between chinchilla and shaded, occasionally even muddied in overall appearance.

 - Rabbits with Chinchilla expression prevent the yellow pigment from being expressed in a rabbit.  Where a rabbit would normally carry yellow pigment, there is instead pearl or white.  This turns Chestnut Agouti rabbits into Chinchillas, Black Otters into Silver Martens, or Harlequin rabbits into Magpies, etc.

 cchl - Chinchilla Light (Sable/Shaded/Seal)

 - Recessive to Full Color, incompletely dominant over Chinchilla dark (cchd), and dominant over the rest. Rabbits that express a sable appearance can be "cchlch" or "cchlc". If a rabbit carries two copies of the sable allele ("cchlcchl"), then the rabbit is referred to as "seal". If a rabbit is "cchdcchl", because the two alleles are incompletely dominant over each other, the rabbit might look anywhere between chinchilla and shaded, occasionally even muddied in overall appearance.

 - The sable gene also removes the yellow pigment like chinchilla does.  It also limits the expression of darker pigment in areas where the fur is longer, which means the extremities of the rabbit remain darker than the rest, creating the "shaded" look.

 - Important to note: although in some breeds Torts are referred to as "shaded", they are not actually genetically shaded. We will get into this in the E-series.

 ch - Himalayan (Pointed White/Californian)

 - Recessive to Full color, Chinchilla, and Sable. Dominant over the REW gene.  The possible pairings for a Himalayan rabbit can only be "chch", or "chc".

 - With the Himalayan gene, color is ONLY expressed in the extremities of the rabbit. The rest of the rabbit is white, and the eyes turn Ruby in color. This is another reason that genetically himalayan rabbits are referred to as "Pointed White".

 - Something to note: the himi gene prevents the expression of color in the white portion of the rabbit, regardless of the other pattern/color genes at play.  You will only be able to see the other genes if they are present in the colored extremities of the rabbit.

 c - Ruby-Eyed White (REW/White)

 - The REW gene is the most recessive in this series. Rabbits will only express REW if they have two copies of this allele: "cc".

 - When a rabbit has two copies of this allele, it prevents ANY color from expressing itself. It turns the rabbit into a white rabbit with ruby eyes.

 - Now REW is a VERY special gene.  Since REW masks ALL other genes, it's like a blanket thrown over the genetic code of that rabbit.  It is impossible to know the other genes that that REW rabbit carries (unless you test breed or one of that rabbit's parents is homozygous in a series).

E-Series / Extension Series

  This series determines how far up the hair shaft color is expressed.

  The four possible alleles within this series, in order of dominance, are "Es", "E", "ej", and "e".

 Es - Steel

 - This is the most dominant allele in this series. Since it is the most dominant, it only requires one copy of this allele in order to express itself.  The possible pairings for Steel to express itself are "EsEs", "EsE", "Esej", or "Ese".

 - Steel is a tricky gene.  Steel expresses itself when combined with the Agouti gene, extending the base color up to the tips, and creating either a gold tip (when rabbit is Chestnut) or a silver tip (when rabbit is Chinchilla).  The surface color looks like a dark rabbit with the gold or silver ticking.  This may look similar to the Silvering gene, but it is not the same gene at play.

 - When the steel gene is combined with another copy of itself, it MAY present itself as a solid black rabbit.  We call this effect a "Hidden Steel" gene, since it may be impossible to see the gene on the rabbit, even though it is the most dominant gene here. It can also occasionally hide in combination of other genes.  Occasionally you will only be able to figure out if a rabbit has the steel gene by test breeding to a non-Steel and Agouti rabbit (like a Chestnut Agouti or Chinchilla).

 E - Normal Extension

 - Recessive to Steel, and dominant over the rest. Rabbits that have normal extension can be "EE", "Eej" or "Ee".

 - Normal Extension has no change on other gene effects.  It just allows for normal extension of color throughout.

 ej - Japanese Harlequin / Japanese Brindling

 - Recessive to Steel, Normal Extension, and dominant over non-extension. Rabbits with the Harlequin gene can be either "ejej" or "eje".

 - This Harlequin gene creates a brindling pattern on the rabbit, with some areas extending the base colors (black, chocolate, or their dilutes) and some areas inhibiting the extension of those colors, creating an orange or fawn in those areas.

 - When combined with the Broken gene (which you will see in a later section), you get a Tri-color rabbit.

 e - Non-Extension

 - The most recessive gene in its series.  Can only be expressed with two copies, "ee".

 - Non-extension affects the extension of black pigment in the rabbit, allowing more yellow pigment to show through.  In Agouti rabbits, this allows for the rabbit's mid-band color to show on the surface throughout the rabbit, and you see this most in Red/Orange/Cream rabbits, or dark-eyed white rabbits.

 - In Self rabbits, you get the Tort effect, where the points of the rabbit are still darker in color, but the main body of the rabbit shows the yellow pigment.  The Cinnamon breed of rabbit is a great example of this Tort effect.

 - In Otter/Tan rabbits, the non-extension gene's appearance can range between what an Agouti Non-Extension and a Self Non-Extension rabbit looks like.

Now that we've explored the 5 basic color genetic series, we can start looking at how these combine to create the rabbit varieties we have within our breeds.

For Part 2 of our color basics, please check out the NEXT SECTION.

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