Chestnut Harlequin

This is written, referring to black japanese, but of course, it applies to any color of harlequin.

Most Harlequins, or at least the best ones, have at least one agouti gene (A-). If they don't have an agouti gene (aa), they will still be harlequin, but not as well marked because they will have a harlequin pattern on top of a tortoiseshell pattern. Because they have an agouti gene, you might think that all harlequins should have chestnut agouti markings, instead of black markings. They don't, because the japanese gene (e^j), functions as ee genes in some places (that's the orange patches), and functions as an E^d gene in other places (that's the black patches). (The name for the E^d gene is "dominant black".) It's as if the japanese gene is two genes in one.

The E^d gene is similar to the steel gene. The steel gene (E^s), makes the fawn band, in what would otherwise be a normal chestnut agouti color, so small, that the overall color is almost black, but a very little bit of fawn is left, and gives it the golden ticking - thus making a black golden steel. The E^d gene is an extreme form of the steel gene. It makes the fawn band so small, that you can't see it at all, so the color looks completely black, even though it does have an agouti gene.

Some geneticists say there isn't an E^d gene. They say, what other geneticists are calling the E^d gene, is just a darker version (caused by modifiers) of the E^s gene. The E^s gene is what makes the color steel.

The harlequin pattern being what it is, makes it hard to tell if those orange hairs in the black markings are brindling or steeling. The next time we see a Harlequin, lets look at the orange hairs to see if the complete length of the hair is orange, or if there is just a small orange band, as in steel.

I know I still haven't explained how there can be a chestnut harlequin. This is where the wide-band gene (ww) comes in. The wide band gene does the reverse of the E^d and E^s genes. While the E^d or E^s genes are narrowing the fawn agouti band, even to the extreme of it disappearing, or almost disappearing, the wide-band gene is making the fawn agouti band much wider and much more noticeable. A Harlequin with the genotype of e^je^jww, could look like a chestnut agouti harlequin, because the wide-band gene (ww) has restored the fawn band of the chestnut agouti color, that the E^d or E^s gene normally takes out.

The above tells of a Harlequin that has areas of chestnut, and areas of orange. How about a Harlequin that has areas of chestnut, and areas of black? Have you ever seen that?

While researching the above, I made a discovery. In my genetic booklet, I show a table by A.G. Searle, that shows all of the different combinations of all of the genes in the E series, and what color they appear to be. I didn't know what the "agouti-steel mosaic" color could be. Now I understand.

The japanese gene acts as both E^d, and as e, in separate areas. The genotype Ee^j, is a mosaic of black and chestnut. That is because the E^d part of the japanese gene, is dominate to E, and produces black areas. The e part of the japanese gene is recessive to E, so the E gene is manifested, and chestnut areas are produced.

 References: Genetic Studies of the Rabbit by Roy Robinson; The Genetics of Domestic Rabbits by W.E. Castle; Comparative Genetics of Coat Colour in Mammals by A.G. Searle; and Color Inheritance in Small Livestock by Roy Robinson.

 

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