Angora Color and Genetics

Glossary                  FAQ's                  Genetic Code Definitions                 Punnett Squares                Color Chart/Pictures

Glossary of Terms
Phenotype - Any visible trait/characteristic of the rabbit (what the rabbit looks like). Two rabbits  the same phenotype will not necessarily have the same genotype.

Genotype - The actual genetic code of the rabbit.  Two or more rabbits with the same genotype will also share phenotype, but two rabbits with the same phenotype may have very different genotypes.

Allele - A gene pair.  Each gene in an allele comes from a different parent.

Locus  - The area on the chromosome where a gene is located   (loci = plural)

Genetic Code - The written expression  (Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee) of inherited genes. 

Dominant- Dominant genes are depicted by capital letters in the genetic code.  They mask the appearance  of recessive genes located in the same area in the genetic code. 

Recessive - Recessive genes are depicted by lower case letters in the genetic code.  They will not show up in the appearance of the rabbit if a dominant gene is present. 

FAQ's Regarding Genetics

Why does a black angora look silver/gray? 

       Color Patterns Unique to Angoras (and long haired rabbits) - Angora rabbits have long fiber that dilutes color.  Often (not always) the longer and denser the fiber, the more dilute the color.  If an angora rabbit produces the same amount of pigment that a Rex or Satin does for instance, but it has to spread out over 10 times the area, it will be much lighter appearing.  Angoras have shorter hair on their heads feet and tails, and so the fiber is generally darker (more like short haired breeds) in these areas. 

Does an albino/Ruby Eyed White rabbit have genes for color?

       Albino/Ruby Eyed White (REW) -  The albino trait masks the appearance of the other genes. They are still there.  It's just that without the C gene for expression of the other genes, none will show in the appearance of the rabbit.

Does a blank spaces in the genetic code mean they don't have the other genes? -

      As noted above, Albino rabbits have the whole genetic code, it is just not visible because of the cc.   The underscore in a genetic code signifies an unknown gene.  There is one there, it is just unknown. 

Angora Rabbit Genetic Code Definitions

Aa      Bb     Cc     Dd     Ee

A - Agouti                   a - Self/Solid
This slot in the Genetic code refers to color pattern only.   The Dominant A causes the rabbit to show the agouti pattern.  They have white around the eyes, underside all the way to the tip of the tail, and lighter tones at the nape of the neck.  
AA Aa A_ _ a aa
Looks agouti, can give only the agouti gene.  This agouti phenotype rabbit can give it's babies either the agouti or self/solid pattern gene. Looks agouti, may carry agouti 'A' or self 'a' in the other slot, unknown. A REW rabbit is bred to an agouti, and there are agouti and black kits.  Both parents must carry the 'a' in order to have the black kits.  The agouti babies could have gotten the A from the agouti parent.   The REW would have to be bred to a self or two to see if it also carries the A gene.   Looks solid/self, and can give only the solid/self gene to it's offspring. 

B - Black             b -  Brown/Chocolate
 This gene is simple. 
BB Bb B_ bb
A black rabbit that can only give the gene for black to it's kits A black rabbit that can give either the gene for black or chocolate to it's kits. A black rabbit that may carry black or chocolate,  unknown A chocolate rabbit that can give only the gene for chocolate to it's kits.
C - Color        c - Albino
C, c, Cchd, Cchl, Cchd -This gene slot is  often confusing.  The key to understanding the Ruby Eyed White/Albino gene is that it is recessive to color  'C', but when both genes are the recessive 'c', no color, pigment or pattern can be expressed, and the  rabbit is albino.  The genes are still there, and passed on to the next generation.  We just don't know what they are unless the rabbit has colored kits.  We may get an idea of what they may have from parents or siblings.
CC Cc C_ cc
A lucky break in a hybrid rabbit, it must have two colored parents.  Any albino or colored rabbit you breed it to will produce a litter with no albino kits.  The kits will carry the 'c' albino gene from the REW parent, but they will appear colored. A colored rabbit that carries the gene for albino.  You know that a colored kit with one albino parent has this combination.  A colored rabbit that may carry either the colored or albino gene in the other slot.  This would be a kit from two colored parents that aren't both known to be CC. An albino/ruby eyed rabbit.  Carries all the other genes in the genotype, but they cannot show on the rabbit without the C gene.

Cchd - Chinchilla
CchdCchd CCchd Cchdc Cchd_ cc
A chinchilla rabbit that passes on only chinchilla for the color gene spot. This rabbit will have a blue/gray tint to its eyes.  A chinchilla rabbit that carries the gene for albino.  A chinchilla rabbit with an unknown other gene.  It is my understanding that an albino cannot
D - Non Dilute                           d - Dilute
DD Dd D_ dd
This rabbit has full expression of it's other genes i.e. black, chocolate, agouti, fawn.  It can only pass on the non-dilute gene to it's offspring. This rabbit shows full expression of it's other genes but carries the dilute gene.  A non dilute kit with one dilute parent is known to have this combination. Fully expressed color, but with an unknown other gene. This rabbit appears as a dilute version of the genes controlled in the other categories, ie Agouti=Lynx, Black=Blue, Chocolate=Lilac, etc.
E - Extension                 e - Non-Extension
 
EE Ee E_ ee
The colors of black and brown extend the length of the hair shaft.   Can only give this dominant gene to it's kits.  The colors of black and brown extend the length of the hair shaft.   Can also give the Non Extension gene to it's kits. The colors of black and brown extend the length of the hair shaft.  Other gene unknown. Black doesn't extend the length of the hair shaft resulting in the fawn, red, orange, torte, and pearl colors.
_  - Unknown
The underscore means that the genetics are not known.  They are still there, we just don't know what they are. 

Punnett Squares
 The Punnett Square is an easy visual depiction of the statistical likelihood that dominant and recessive genes are passed on to offspring.  I am using the agouti/self genes as an example, but this charting technique can be applied to B, C, D, and E as well.   One parents genes for agouti/self patterning is depicted in BLUE, and one is depicted in RED.    Note that the parents have two genes for each category because they received one from each of their parents.  They then pass only one of these genes on to each of their kits.
  A A
A AA AA
A AA AA
  A A
A AA AA
a Aa Aa
  A a
A AA aA
a Aa aa
  A a
a Aa aa
a Aa aa
  a a
a aa aa
a aa aa
Both Parent's AA and AA can only give the dominant 'A' gene to their babies. Thus their babies are all AA as well.  If you know that both parents are AA then you know the babies are all AA.  If you don't know, then you will have to breed both rabbits to aa rabbits a few times to be relatively sure.  Parent AA can only give the dominant A gene to it's babies but parent Aa carries the recessive 'a' and so there is a 50/50 chance that a given baby will carry the recessive self/solid 'a' pattern gene.   All babies will look agouti, and one can't tell which carry self until the babies are then bred later.  Each parent carries both dominant and recessive genes.  There is a 25% chance that a given kit will be AA, a 25% chance that a given kit will be aa, and a 50% chance that a given kit will be Aa.  The aa kit will be self, and you will then know it's genetics.  The agouti kits you will not know if they carry the recessive a until you breed them with a rabbit that also carries a and get a self kit. Parent Aa carries the agouti gene and the a self gene.  Parent aa is self, and can only give it's babies the recessive 'a' gene.   Thus all babies carry self, but 50% are likely to carry the agouti gene and thus look like agoutis.  With this combo of parents, one can know by the appearance exactly what each baby carries.  It is possible that all the kits come out agouti if the Aa parent happens to pass on that gene each time.   It is also possible that they all come out self.  Both parents carry only recessive aa genes, and as such would appear as solid/self.  Thus all the babies carry only recessive aa, appear solid/self, and thus pass only the recessive gene on to it's kits.   

Color Chart with Picture Examples

C - Color Gene

A  -  Agouti
       
         
Chestnut Agouti, Wild Agouti, Agouti Chestnut Agouti, Wild Agouti, Agouti Chocolate Agouti Dilute Agouti, Opal Fawn, Red, Orange Chocolate

Cream Agouti

 Lynx, Lilac Agouti Cream Fawn Lilac Fawn
A_ B_ C_ D_ E_ A_ B_ C_ D_ E_ A_ bb C_ D_ E_ A_ B_ C_ dd E_ A_ B_ C_ D_ ee A_bb C_ D_ ee A_bb C_ dd E_ A_B_ C_ dd ee A_bb C_ dd ee
This is the classic Chestnut or Wild Agouti phenotype.  This is what wild rabbits look like, and the expression of universally dominant genes. Notice that this doe has much more brown in her coat than the other agouti pictured.  You can tell the B is there from the grey tones of her coat and the black tips on her ears.  This is a doe with the agouti patterning, but with recessive in the Black/chocolate slot.  Thus she lacks black in her coat.  Notice no black on her ears.    This is the same color pattern as the agoutis, only the recessive ee causes the black/brown coloring to not extend out along the hair shaft.         

a  -  Self/Solid
Black Chocolate Blue Torte Chocolate Torte Blue Torte Lilac (Smoke) Pearl
aa B_ C_ D_ E_ aa bb C_ D_ E_ aa B_ C_ dd E_ aa B_ C_ D_ ee aa bb C_ D_ ee aa B_ C_ dd ee aa bb C_ dd E_ aa bb C_ dd ee
A standard black German/French hybrid. Note the chocolaty brown color of his head.   Note the black nose on the black tort. His nose is just a hint darker than his head.     Picture donated by Kathryn Saria's Mad River Rabbitry   http://MadRiverRabbitry.webs.com 

A - Agouti Cchd  -  Chinchilla

I am not going to address the Cchl - Seal/Sable's or Cch - Himalayan's genes at this time as they are much more rare.  I will revisit those colors in the future if there happens to be a significant number to get photos of.  

 
Chinchilla, Agouti Chinchilla Chocolate Chin Blue chin Ermine Lilac Chin Chocolate Ermine Blue Ermine Lilac Ermine
A_ B_ Cchd_ D_ E_ A_ bb Cchd_ D_ E_ A_ B_ Cchd_ dd E_ A_ B_ Cchd_ D_ ee A_ bbCchd_ dd E_ A_ bbCchd_ D_ ee A_ B_ Cchd_ dd ee A_ bbCchd_ dd ee
The chin coat has the agouti patterning with the flecking of color along the shaft, the rings around eyes and white dorsal area, but no brown in the coat.  The chocolate chin has the same agouti patterning and flecking along the guard-hair shaft, but no black in the coat, only brown. This color is the same as the dominant chinchilla only the black is diluted to a blue.          

a - self Cchd  -  Chinchilla

Blue/grey eyes are the the main clue that the chinchilla gene is present in a self/solid.
             
Black Self Chin Chocolate Self Chin Blue Self Chin Sallander Lilac Self Chin Chocolate Sallander Blue Sallander Lilac Sallander
aa B_ Cchd_ D_ E_ aa bb Cchd_ D_ E_ aa B_ Cchd_ dd E_ aa B_ Cchd_ D_ ee aa bb Cchd_ dd E_ aa bb Cchd_ D_ ee aa B_ Cchd_ dd ee aa bbCchd_ dd ee
This is a juvenile and so darker appearing.  Angoras generally lighten with age.                

I am not going to address the Cchl - Seal/Sable's or Cch - Himalayan's genes here as they are very rare.  I will revisit those colors in the future if there happens to be a significant number to get photos of.  

c - Albino/ Ruby Eyed White Gene

All genes are the same as above, they are just hidden due to not getting the C for expression of the other genes.  Albino rabbits can only give the recessive c to their offspring in the Cc - color slot. Albino's pass on either dominants or recessives in all the other genes to their offspring depending on what they got from their parents.  The only way to figure out the other genes they may carry is to breed them to a recessively colored rabbit, or to know the colors of parents and siblings.  Their eyes are pink due to total lack of pigment.  Thus they are clear and the pink comes from the blood visible in their eye.

REW/Albino REW/Albino REW/Albino
Albino/REW Albino/REW Albino/REW Albino/REW Albino/REW Albino/REW Albino/REW
aa  __ cc __ EE __  __ cc __ __ AA  B_ cc _D_ E_ __  __ cc __ __ Aa  Bb cc D_ Ee __  __ cc __ __ __  __ cc __ __
I know this buck throws only the self gene and no extension because I bred him to black and torte does, and he had black, no agouti, and no fawn or torte kits. I don't know about the dilute because the does didn't carry dilute.  I don't know about the chocolate for the same reason   He threw lots of agouti kits with lots of self does.  He threw a buck that went on to sire dilutes, but I am not sure if it came from this buck or the dam.  He never had any chocolate or extension kits, but it could have been by chance, and I didn't breed him enough to be certain.   She is out of a dam that is fawn.  I bred her to a chocolate torte buck and got chocolates, whites, fawns tortes, blacks, and agoutis.  Since she had both recessive, and dominant phenotype kits, I know she carries both in those categories, since the sire can't throw dominants.    

 

Disclaimer

I am still learning about genetics.  If anyone sees any errors on this page, please let me know so I can fix them.  Thank You!  :o)

** Also, if anyone has pictures of Angoras (German, Giant, English, French, or German hybrid) that would be good examples of a phenotype not yet pictured, you can send the picture to me, and if it is a good picture  for an open spot, I will post it with the name of the person, or rabbitry making the contribution.

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