Genetic study of "chamois" coat in rabbit.

Thuringer rabbits are yellow with blackish belly and extremities. Two genet ic interpretations have been proposed in the past for this pattern. It coul d be a simple variant of "himalayan" or the result of a partial suppression of black pigments induced by the aa genotype. New experimental data allow the authors to refute these two hypothesis. They suggest that "thuringer co at,, is determined by an allele at the A locus, recessive to a (recessive b lack). They name it a(ct) (ct for "chamois de Thuringe"). A(+) appears to b e incompletely dominant on a(ct), and the expressivity of A(+)a(ct) is not the same when the E locus is occupied by E+ (wild allele, without any effec t) or E-d (dominant black). This hypothesis of the existence of an allele r ecessive to a may surprise but it is simple and it correctly explains exper imental segregations.