Somatic Mutation Morgan

How does that work? The deactivation? I don't know if you can answer that question, but whenever I'm confused you guys can always put it in a way that I can understand :grin:

Somatic mutation in the case of horse color is when a gene is "switched off". It doesn't mean that the gene itself is no longer present, just that it is not activated. A gene test of samples taken from this filly's spot and another area on her body would both test genetically identical.

In this case of somatic mutation the filly's agouti(bay) gene was switched off in that patch on her rump. A bay horse without agouti would be black, so that is the color she is expressing underneath. It could also be the Brown agouti allele which is recessive to common bay which now has a chance to express.

That's so interesting!! Thank you!!

So if a dark patch like that is the gene being turned off, what is the white patches that are called somatic mutations as well?

Certain white patches referred to as somatic mutation are when a mutation prevents the melanoblasts from functioning and producing pigment. This can cause white patches unrelated to any genetically inheritable pattern.

Ok so it just depends on...where along the line of development the mutation wants to make itself known in a sense.

I don't know about pigment placement and development, so the way my mind makes sense of things is a little screwy. But for instance if I look at it as Layers, we've have the: Skin (like the bread), Extension Gene, and then the Agouti Gene.

If the mutation is under any of the genes which add to color, we would see a white somatic mutaton. If the mutation is between Extension and Agouti, if the horse was say an EE/AA, we'd see a black somatic mutation.

Come to think about it I need to lay off the cough syrup.

I think we might be on the same page. And now I want a sandwich. ^_^

Somatic mutation can do even stranger things too. If a horse is Ee Aa you can have chestnut patches on a bay if their E allele gets switched off (or if a mutation occurs which prevents the production of black pigment). And in the case of LP you can have solid patches that don't varnish since LP was switched off. This is the cause of missmarks like this guy has.

http://atigradoacres.com/Twila07coltb.s…

He would be a normal bay if he lacked LP so that's why the patches have no varnishing or PATN expressing.

Oh ok, so it basically can anything as it just switches the gene off. Hm....will have to get with Capalls about that. I had mutations for Dark and White somatic mutations programmed into it. We'll see what she wants to do about it. Maybe we'll program it where one copy of the mutation will be like a normal color gene turned off, and two copies will be where you get the white non pigmented patches.

As for the sammie, I'm at Panera ^_~

Ohhh Panera.

And. Can't. Wait. For. Simulator.....

You do realize I'm going to do a VirtualPwnies blog post about it when it's done right? XD

LOL Sure, go for it. We're tweaking it right now. Doing what I can for having mucus brain. It wont be entirely finished upon the new release, we will be adding and changing things to make it better. But it is entirely different then any genetics game out there right now.