Pigmentation in most mammals is primarily due
to the presence of melanin, which is synthesized in specialized cells
called melanocytes. Melanocytes come from a population of cells, called
the neural crest, that is located on the dorsal mid-line of the early
embryo. (Neural crest cells also contribute to a wide variety of other
cell populations in the animal.)
There are two related types of melanin, dark
melanin (black or brown) and light melanin (tan or reddish). In the
hair, melanin is found in minute pigment granules. The genetics of coat
color is largely concerned with the genes that affect the number, shape,
arrangement or position of these granules, or the type of melanin they
contain.
In poodles, the most common color is black.
However, there is no black gene, but rather a number of genes that work
together to produce black.
Specification and migration of the neural
crest
The first event that could be altered is the
correct specification of cells in the neural crest. If the subpopulation
that would normally give rise to melanocytes never forms, the result
would be an animal without pigmentation in the skin or hair. However,
mutations affecting this process generally affect other neural crest
derivatives and are lethal. To my knowledge, there are no known mutants
of this type in the poodle.
There are also genes that affect the pathways
of migration of the cells destined to form pigment. This can result
unpigmented (white) areas. Two such genes have been described in dogs,
S (spotting) and M
(Merle). Mutant alleles of the Merle gene have not been reported in the
poodle. The S alleles include:
- S ... self
(complete pigmentation; dominant)
- si
... Irish spotting
- sp
... piebald spotting
- sw
... extreme white piebald
Dogs homozygous for Irish spotting have
irregular white patches. The number and size of these patches is
extremely variable. This is probably the allele that produces mismarks.
The piebald allele produces a fairly well
defined pattern of dark and white areas. The traditional parti-colored
black and white poodle, once common, and accepted for show, is likely
spsp. Now, inexplicably,
only solid colored poodles are accepted for conformation showing.
The extreme white piebald allele is thought to
be responsible for all-white animals in some breeds, but not in the
poodle.
Synthesis of melanin (the C gene)
One thing almost universally agreed upon by
geneticists is that true albinos, lacking all melanin-based pigments,
result from a deficiency in the enzyme tyrosinase. Albinos are
homozygous for the recessive mutant allele c.
CC or Cc dogs have
full color, as determined by the other genes carried. Albinos (cc)
have no pigment in the nose, eyes, hair or skin - and are very rare.
In many mammals, there is a third allele,
chinchilla (cch). In mice, this
allele produces defective tyrosinase which cannot synthesize the normal
amounts of melanin. For some reason, the melanin that is made is
primarily the dark eumelanin. The degree to which the coat is lightened
depends on the species. The eyes and nose generally remain dark.
In dogs, most authorities classify a
chinchilla-like mutation as an allele in the C series,
but I have seen no studies establishing that it directly affects the
activity of tyrosinase. Chinchilla is said to have no noticeable effect
on eumelanin, but reduces the color to cream in dogs that would
otherwise be tan, apricot or yellow (golden). If this is correct, then a
black or brown poodle should be unaffected, but a "chinchilla-apricot" (cchcchee)
would be cream. However, I can't help wondering whether the chinchilla
allele may account for so-called "bad" blacks.
Genes affecting the relative proportion of the
two melanins (A and E)
A dog carrying both an A
(agouti) and an E (extension)
allele will have the dark melanin (as both are dominant,
only one copy of each is necessary), whereas a dog that is either
aa or ee will have the
lighter melanin. Generally, when all breeds are considered,
aa more often produces yellowish-tan and ee
the more reddish tones. Apricot poodles likely fall into the second
group. Though Willis says that the at
allele (black and tan bicolor) is found in the poodle, it is certainly
rare, and would be a fault.
Genes affecting the structure of the pigment
granule (B and D)
These genes do not affect the synthesis of
melanin, but rather the structure and organization of the pigment
granules.
The B gene (brown)
determines whether the dark melanin-containing granules appear black (BB
or Bb) or brown (bb).
A true brown must have no black pigment anywhere including the eyes and
nose.
The D (dilute) gene
affects the apparent intensity of the pigmentation, but not through an
actual reduction in the amount of melanin present. There are two alleles
described in the literature, D, which is
dominant and gives full color, and d, which
leads to a clumping of the pigment granules in a homozygous (dd)
animal. This leads to reduced light absorption.
In an otherwise black animal, the d
allele is supposed to produce a "Maltese" blue (slate grey) animal, and
possibly cafe-au-lait when acting on a brown. Confusion between the
effects of this gene and that of the greying and silvering genes (see
below) is common. The Maltese blues are said to be born blue. However,
these seem to be much less common than the silver-blues, at least among
the Standard poodles.
Unknown action: rufus (R), silver (V)
and grey (G)
Red poodles are rare, generally appear in
apricot lines, and appear to be the result of a separate gene. Willis,
citing Robinson, talks about "rufus"genes, that are
poorly characterized, but may act to darken an apricot or brown coat. As
the poodle pedigrees for reds suggest only one such gene, I propose that
it be called F (rufus; R
is already used for roan). The recessive allele, f,
produces red in an apricot (i.e. eeff), and
may also affect brown, but is supposed to have no effect on black.
Most authorities describe a dominant allele (G)
for graying; non-grey would be gg. Some also
consider it to be the gene for silver, in which case it would have to be
a partial dominant. Willis (1989), however, says that silvers are dilute
greys (ddG); he does not indicate whether
ddGG and ddGg would
be the same. Searle (1968) says simply that "this dominant gene
apparently leads to a progressive greying in coat-color throughout life
and seems to be present in poodles."
My own study of standard poodle pedigrees is
consistent with the interpretation that grey and silver are separate
genes. To avoid confusion, lets call the silver allele V.
It is given a capital letter because it is a partial dominant. In other
words, if a poodle is alleles, vv would be
black, Vv would be a dark blue-grey (but is
commonly called blue, leading to confusion with blues caused by the
dilution factor, d) and VV
would be silver. Both blues and silvers are born black and "clear"
during the first year, or sometimes even later. Consequently, many are
registered as black and this is never changed in the official records.
In addition, some are registered as grey. (However, knowledgeable
breeders say they can recognize a silver shortly after birth.)
This gene also affects brown and apricot, as
follows:
|
BBEEvv |
black |
...Vv |
blue |
...VV |
silver |
|
bbEEvv |
brown |
...Vv |
silver-beige |
...VV |
champagne |
|
BBeevv
|
apricot |
...Vv |
cream |
...VV |
white |
The greying gene, in contrast,
leads to a gradual accumulation of silver-grey hairs in the coat,
generally beginning around 4-5 years of age, much as in humans. The dam
of one of my own poodles (a black Mini) is two years younger than the
sire, but looks older as she is turning grey and he is holding his
color.
If you have managed to stick with me this far,
you will likely have noticed that two different genotypes have been
mentioned as possibilities for cream: eeVv and
cchcchee. Evidence for
the first comes from crosses between silvers and apricots, which produce
blues and creams. Lets take a look at this more closely:
Silver, EeVV x
apricot, eevv => 1/2 blue, EeVv,
and 1/2 cream, eeVv. (If the silver is not
carrying the e allele, only blues will be
obtained.)
However, creams are also obtained in crosses
between two blacks, often at close to the expected 1/4 for a recessive
trait, and with no other colors than black and cream appearing. These
cannot be silvered apricots, as at least one of the parents would have
to be blue, and both blue and apricot progeny would be expected in
addition to black and cream.
In summary
A black poodle should be
A-B-C-D-E-F-ggS-vv. Except for V,
all these genes show normal dominance as far as we know. Writing the
genotype as A-, for example, is to be
interpreted as meaning that the second allele make no difference to the
phenotype. The effects of the genes, singly, are as follows:
|
bb |
brown |
|
cch cch |
"bad" blacks? (supposedly only affects light
melanins) |
|
dd |
"Maltese blue" dilution (affects all colors) |
|
ee |
apricot |
|
ff |
intensifies red tones in apricot and brown |
|
GG or Gg |
progressive greying later in life (dominant) |
|
si si |
Irish spotting (mismark) |
|
sp sp |
piebald spotting (Parti-color; black & white) |
|
VV or vv |
silver or blue (partial dominant) |
© John B. Armstrong, 1997