Examples of Phenotype vs Genotype

In these examples we can see how 2 rabbits of the same PHENOTYPE produce different results because they have different GENOTYPES.

Legal Mating: Blue Cal x Chocolate Marten => Squirrel

The genotype for Squirrel is: A- B- cchd- dd

It is a Blue Agouti Chinchilla. In order for this to be a legal offspring, the following must be true:

  1. ONE parent must have the Agouti allele (A)
  2. ONE parent must have the Black Allele (B)
  3. ONE parent must have the Chinchilla allele (cchd)
  4. BOTH parents must have the Dilute allele (d)

meld-ex06

Illegal Mating: Blue Cal x Chocolate Marten => Squirrel

The genotype for Squirrel is: A- B- cchd- dd

It is a Blue Agouti Chinchilla. In order for this to be a legal offspring, the following must be true:

  1. ONE parent must have the Agouti allele (A)
  2. ONE parent must have the Black Allele (B)
  3. ONE parent must have the Chinchilla allele (cchd)
  4. BOTH parents must have the Dilute allele (d)

THIS time, although the PHENOTYPE for the Californian is the same as the one before, the GENOTYPE is different, and it does NOT carry the Agouti (A) gene we need. The Marten doesn’t have it either (it’s a tan) so it is impossible to produce a Squirrel offspring using these two rabbits.

 

meld-ex06b

 

Illegal Mating: Blue Cal x Chocolate Marten => Opal

The genotype for Opal is: A- B- C- dd

It is a Blue Agouti Chinchilla. In order for this to be a legal offspring, the following must be true:

  1. ONE parent must have the Agouti allele (A)
  2. ONE parent must have the Black Allele (B)
  3. ONE parent must have the Full Color allele (C)
  4. BOTH parents must have the Dilute allele (d)

No-one has the Full Color gene (C), so this mating can’t produce this offspring.

meld-bad-2a

Illegal Mating: Blue Cal x Chocolate Marten => Opal

The genotype for Opal is: A- B- C- dd

It is a Blue Agouti Chinchilla. In order for this to be a legal offspring, the following must be true:

  1. ONE parent must have the Agouti allele (A)
  2. ONE parent must have the Black Allele (B)
  3. ONE parent must have the Full Color allele (C)
  4. BOTH parents must have the Dilute allele (d)

Just like before, no-one has the Full Color (C) gene, so this mating can’t produce this offspring. THIS time the Cal is a self Cal – although the PHENOTYPE is the same as the previous example, it also lacks the Agouti gene (A) and so there are TWO reasons this mating could never produce this offspring.

meld-bad-2b

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