Rabbit Genetics:
The Basics are Simple to Understand

Rabbit Genetics: These basic principles of dominant and recessive trait inheritance apply equally to rabbit coat color genetics and much more.



Here's now Dominant/Recessive inheritance in rabbits works relative to rabbit coat color genetics.

• Inside every cell in the rabbit is DNA - the blueprint that dictates how the animal looks and acts.
• Genes contain the DNA. They come in pairs.
• The genes always contain two copies for fur color. The two copies might be identical, coding for the same color, or, they might NOT be identical. They might each code for a different color of fur. If so, one color will be dominant, and the other is simply a back-up, or recessive (see below).
• One of these genes comes from the father and one from the mother. They recombine in the offspring, bringing the total gene count back up to two per animal. This recombination of genetic material from parents into children is why we have such diversity among both people and rabbits.
• Some genes are dominant, and some are recessive. The dominant gene gets "expressed," that is, you see its effect in the color of the rabbit. The other gene is is not expressed. In fact, you might never know it's there, unless it gets passed down to an offspring and paired with another recessive.
• Agouti coloration is dominant. Think chestnut agouti in Netherland Dwarfs or castor in Rex rabbits. Both are agouti.
• Solid black coloration is recessive (also called a 'self' color). To have a black coat, the rabbit has to receive a recessive black gene from both parents.
• Two agouti rabbits which carry TWO agouti genes each, will ALWAYS give birth to agouti rabbits.
• Two black rabbits when bred together will ALWAYS give birth to black rabbits. This is because they cannot carry an agouti gene, because if they did, they would BE agouti, since agouti genes dominate black genes. (For this discussion, we'll keep this simple, and not throw into the mix dilute colors or broken genes, etc.)

Are we good so far?

Let's see how rabbit genetics work when two rabbits mate that each have both a dominant and a recessive gene. In this case, what bunny colors could you expect to find in the nestbox?

Here's a chart that will help visualize the rabbit genetics.

The CAPITAL A represents the dominant chestnut agouti gene. The small 'a' represents the recessive black gene.

In our example, the sire (father) has a DOMINANT agouti gene and a recessive black gene. He will give just one of these genes, randomly, to each offspring. The same goes for the dam (mother). Our chart, for simplicity, has room for 4 offspring, which is fine. In the long run, this will accurately represent the statistical chances for obtaining these colors.

We'll place a big red A from the dam into the boxes under her big A, and we'll place a little red 'a' from the dam into the boxes under the dam's little 'a.' We'll then do the same for the sire, following the rows, and we'll color the sire's genes green for clarity.

50% of the babies get a dominant 'A' gene from dad, and 50% get a recessive 'a' gene. 50% of the babies get a dominant 'A' gene from mom, and 50% get a recessive 'a' gene.

So...! What color are the babies??

Baby #1 has a double dose of chestnut agouti. And he looks like it--definitely chestnut agouti.

Babies #2 and #3 are also agouti, but they also carry a hidden black gene. How can you know this? You can't, not just by looking (you can test-breed), because they are chestnut agouti like their sibling, baby #1.

Baby #4, on the other hand, is solid black, top to bottom! There's no dominant gene to cover up the two recessive black genes he ended up with. (In this picture, the black rabbit has two black genes. He also has a modifying gene that adds the white patches known as a "broken" pattern. Yes, rabbit genetics can get...umm...fun!)

(Above, I mentioned that the genes are distributed randomly. And they are. Out of the breeding represented in the chart, you are likely to get 1 black baby, but it's not impossible to get FOUR blacks. It is conceivable, but it is not probable at all. In a single breeding, you're likely to find 3 agoutis and 1 black, but you could also find 2 and 2. Over many breedings however, the statistics even out as represented by the chart above: 25% blacks and 75% agoutis, 50% of which also carry a recessive gene.)

In the hierarchy of dominant to recessive coat colors, agouti ('A') is dominant. The otter coloration ('at') is recessive to agouti, and black ('a' - self-coloration) is recessive to both agouti and otter.

Many, many traits are inherited through simple dominant or recessive genes. The rabbit gets two genes for each trait. One is the dominant trait and will be the one that influences the rabbit’s looks or behavior. The second gene is simply a back-up. Back-ups are the reason animals, and people, end up being so varied and interesting.

Rabbit Coat Color Genetics

Go to Rabbit Coat Color Genetics for a wider discussion of all FIVE primary rabbit color genes, and how they affect rabbit colors.

Rabbit Coat Color Genetics, by Glenna M. Huffmon, is an excellent resource for studying rabbit genetics more extensively.

Autosomal Recessive Disorders

Go to Autosomal Recessive Disorders if you need to know more about recessive genetic traits, and how to test-breed to eradicate an undesirable trait from your rabbitry.

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