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black gene

I hav been thinking about how black can behave so differently sometimes. It got me wondering if maybe there was another alelle or something at work. Similar to seal on agouti but on the black gene? This would account for the fading blacks and and or the other occasional odd black.

NZ Appaloosas Fri, 01/06/2012 - 23:52

Well, Lp works on the black gene...that's how the word "funkify" came about, Lp can make (doesn't always, tho') black take on a bronzy, velvety, sorta weird chocolatey colour.

CMhorses Sat, 01/07/2012 - 02:39

It could be similar to how dogs have different E's.... so maybe there is like Ef and En (f for fading and n for non fading) also the f and n would be in the superscript but it wouldn't let me do it.

Daylene Alford Sat, 01/07/2012 - 09:51

Extension in horses has been mapped for quite a while (in terms of genetic advancement) and while an additional recessive allele as been discovered there have not been any additional E alleles. It's possible there could be additional alleles but I would say it is unlikely and/or they are very rare. Most of what you see in fading can be explained by other genes such as LP or by nutritional/environmental differences. For example, horses that are low in copper will fade worse than horses that are not and also horses that are in very humid environments where sweat stays on the coat longer seem to fade worse than horses in drier environments.

Also, horses that brown rather than black or bay tend to show more fading in the summer. Although, this might not actually be fading but just the greater variation of coat color that brown horses naturally express.

Maigray Sat, 01/07/2012 - 11:02

I think that even though eumelanin is considered the "black" pigment in horses, that does not mean it is purely black. Eumelanin is a pigment. A pigment is, biologically speaking, something that imparts color in a plant or animal. But it works by absorbing different wavelengths of light (right?). Eumelanin, depending on density, structuring, light conditions, etc., is actually defined as a yellow-gray-brown-black pigment. So all of those variations are inherently possible.

Third Peppermint Sat, 01/07/2012 - 12:58

I'd put my vote in for there only being the three alleles (E, e, e^d?) and there being some other genes elsewhere that can modify black pigment - kind of like how we have various shades of ee.

colorfan Mon, 01/30/2012 - 19:08

In reply to by Daylene Alford

Most of what you see in fading can be explained by other genes such as LP or by nutritional/environmental differences. For example, horses that are low in copper will fade worse than horses that are not and also horses that are in very humid environments where sweat stays on the coat longer seem to fade worse than horses in drier environments.

I agree there is truth in this but it doesn't explain the two horses in the same pasture on the same hay, one fades and one stays shiny black.