Inspired by the Genetics Survey on Gene Expression and an inquiry from the CanineGenetics-L yahoo group, I figure it might be fun to post an occasional genetics quiz to reinforce some of the concepts covered on this blog and provoke discussion of the sorts of genetics knowledge that is most helpful to dog enthusiasts.
The results are not tracked, it’s completely anonymous, and the correct answers will be revealed tomorrow. I tried several automated quiz plugins but they are a pain, so we’ll just go old school. If you run across an answer that you want to discuss, do leave a comment.
February is the month of sweethearts, so there’s no better time to bone up on what happens when love is in the air and dogs are swapping genes. For the inaugural monthly quiz, here are some questions long time readers of the blog should be able to answer.
Multiple Correct Answers are accepted and often required.
| Question 1 |
Inbreeding leads to:
Increased homozygosity.
Increased expression of recessive traits.
Decreased expression of dominant traits.
Increased heterozygosity.
| Question 2 |
An allele:
Is one of possibly many variations of a gene.
Can be recessive.
Can be dominant.
Is a synonym of “gene.”
| Question 3 |
A gene:
Is a unit of heredity that is transferred from parent to offspring.
Controls the transmission and expression of one or more traits.
Can code for multiple and otherwise unrelated phenotypic effects.
Codes only for a single discernible phenotypic effect.
Can be dominant or recessive.
| Question 4 |
If an individual has inherited the same allele for a gene from both parents, they are said to be:
Heterozygous.
Homozygous.
Hemizygous.
Nullizygous.
Allozygous.
Heterozygous.
| Question 5 |
Phenotype refers to:
The set of observable characteristics of an individual.
The morphology, behavior, and development of an individual.
The genetic makeup of an individual.
Both expressed and unexpressed genetic variation.
| Question 6 |
Which of the following trait types can “breed true?” To “breed true” means that two organisms with a particular heritable phenotype produce only offspring with that same phenotype.
Recessive traits. (e.g. brown coloring, rough coats, tri-color, etc.)
Dominant traits. (e.g. black coloring, smooth coats, etc.)
Heterozygous Semi-Dominant traits. (e.g. Merle, Bobtail, Chinese Crested Hairless, German Shepherd Panda, etc.)
Heterozygous Co-Dominant traits. (e.g. AB blood type, red-white Roan in horses, etc.)
| Question 7 |
What mode of inheritance do the following traits have in common: Merle, Bobtail, Harlequin, Panda (German Shepherds), Hairlessness (Xolo, Chinese Crested, etc.) ?
They are Lethal. Lethal genes are capable of causing death.
They are all semi-dominant. When the heterozygote has a different, intermediate phenotype compared to the homozygous dominant or homozygous recessive individuals, it is said to be “semi-dominant.”
They are all recessive.
They are all dominant.
They are sex-linked.
They are all co-dominant.
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Anton
Christopher
Lawrence Dillard
Lech
Stephanie
Essere
Hmm, I may know something about genetics, but I appear to be rubbish at doing computer quizzes…
… particularly if you fail to notice that you should put multiple answers down!
Great quiz. Goes right to the things I’ve gotten scrambled by trying to learn genetics by osmosis. BUT it doesn’t work right on Mozilla Firefox (9.0.1 on Mac). It always says I’ve answered 1/7 questions and won’t display the answers for questions 2 to 7. (I got caught by the more than one correct answers thing too, but if I had been more confident in my knowledge of terminology, I would have spotted it quickly).
Thank you Chris for ending the thread. Every intelligent learning sharing discussion ends the same way among the encampments of collie breeders. It causes the same problems for the new breeder of choosing sides on an elementary play ground social developmental level. Back to elementary social behavior… when someone was told, “Meet me and my friends off school grounds” It would have served the entire collie breed for this breeder to have shared her observations and experiences such as: What ratio of pigmentation when this color pattern is bred to a tri? Win Win for all collies.
These discussions are not about old terms like Tortoise, or Battleship grey or reference Gunmetal Blue. …or whose dog, or kennel gave them what. Genetics and molecular
evidence gives us a quantum leap ability to end this juvenile behavior towards one another, and preserve and protect the collie breed, not just one collie. Theory is replaced by fact. It is a work in progress however Research is knocking down the barriers of old theory daily.
Kathy Bittorf
And thank you for dragging it out!
I thought the discussion was pretty mild, and was happy to see a post from the actual owner of Jake the blue collie. Nothing juvenile, although you did bring up a childrens’ book author.
Re: Jake:
First, you brought up lethal gray and VWD, even though to the best of my knowledge there currently isn’t a reliable VWD test for collies. Also, if he had cyclic neutropenia, wouldn’t he be, well, dead?
He doesn’t seem to be a dilute, like the well-documented blue and lilac “dd” border collies (which, afaik, have no associated health risks). I didn’t realize that maltese was the correct term for it, since I learned that maltese was a dilute of tri (not a variation on merle). It sounds like one of those “old terms” that should be avoided.
I might be a dummy, but I did manage to get 3 right on the quiz and partial credit on 2!
Jana mild? I think there were more folks that did not appreciate. However, I do not appreciate paying high breeding stock for breeding stock without full disclosures.
So you know he nor anyone on this thread to my knowledge is directly involved with my collies but the breeding program utilized most certainly can be identified.
I am not a happy camper …I do not want with maltese, or harlequin.
First Merry reply as a season breeder revealed to me:
First: What committment and dedication to the collie welfare. Her dedication to better answers revealed..”finally got Dr. Leigh Clark attention. She gave a link to what she identifies as sable merle maltese. Wish she had shown in adult coat. Wish she had given a tri breeding. She states she only breeds him to a blue maltese.
Second: The only documented scientific conclusion to cyclic neutropedia is on Coat Colors of Dogs under relationship to disease in coat color by Dr.Shiela Schmutz
Third: Documented scintific results from my personal studies IMO and AFAIK for VwD it would appear related to dilution.
Lastly, do you refer to Terhune of Sunnybank as a children’s story author?
Hey at least you got some of answers right. Do not get discourage …they even have a Primer of Genetics for responsible breeders. Kathy
If you don’t want harlequin or maltese merles, that’s easy: avoid them. There are plenty of “normal” merles to go around. Nobody can force you to buy a dog you don’t want, or pay a price you don’t like.
Why do you wish that she had bred the sable merle maltese puppy? She said that the maltese dogs were too laid back to be good for farm work. That, and being cautious about the problems that a very subtle merle could cause, sound like good reasons to not breed a dog.
As far as CCN, this was the first page where I learned about it, with some very sensible advice:
http://bitoheaven10.angelfire.com/GCS.html
I don’t know what the status of VWD in collies is. Back in 2000 or so, my dog had blood drawn for a VWD study. I’ve been told by a couple of breeders that it used to be recommended to test for it, but the recommendation was dropped because VWD isn’t a problem in the breed.
Terhune – you brought it up. On Jake’s website you said “have they not read Gray Dawn?”. I wondered what the relevance was – and I still wonder. Are you saying that Dawn was a maltese?
Jana:
Thank you I had no idea that the breeder or her followers were under such attacks. No I am not saying Grey Dawn was a maltese. No way in that period would anyone have known. Believe it was actually a complement …as Tertune stated was Blind.
The show ring saw the Grey Collie Champions.
Yes, like when I was doing OFA’s told the collie did not have hip dyplasia. Why was I doing that. My answer then as now…How do you know if you have not tested?
I do not know the current status either. Know colobomas ratios are down due to responsible breeders. Kathy
Firstly, I am not a more seasoned breeder than Jana. I simply know as much about the lines I’ve had under my roof as anyone. Most of the breeding of Jake’s family has been done by other people. There have been three generations bred so far out of multiple bitches, including an English Shepherd mix. All litters contained Maltese or “Marky” merles despite varying degrees of outcrossing, which is what originally caught my attention.
I haven’t spread the information to the Collie world because the study is in its infancy and there’s still nothing to report, scientifically speaking. However, word of this possible color mutation is all over canine genetics lists in more than one breed, so it’s not like I have a monopoly on the information. It’s there for the taking.
I was unable to find any articles linking VwD to coat dilution genetics. I did, however find this article which states they do not seem to be connected: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10685679 I think you may have misread the data?
The sable merle puppy pictured is not an adult yet, so I can’t show you her adult coat. Her father Jake IS tricolor, though, because blue merles are tricolors with a merle gene added. Even if Jake were dilute blue, his tan points indicate that he is genetically a tricolor. He has been bred to both a tricolor and a sable bitch. Marky merles were born to both mothers.
Finally, Jake is currently about to turn 6 and the worst health issue he’s ever had is gas from finding nasty dead stuff to eat. 😉 Life favors strong constitutions on a farm. I agree with Jana that if he had Cyclic Neutropenia, he’d be dead. I chose him as a pup because he was the best put-together in his litter and had already shown interest in moving the goats while following his breeder on chores. I’d happily choose another Marky merle as a breeding hopeful if it showed the same kind of promise… I’d just undertake breeding with care and would encourage the same in anyone choosing to perpetuate the line and its unusual color.
You know the problem you are comprehension bias and so is your muscle man. Especially limited into the health issues that fanciers finally are able to find the carriers…the affected die.
I never said that the diseases are connected only that MARKERS were found as Exonic SINE insertion. Do you know that SINE combines with the merle gene? Geez Kathy
I didn’t end any thread!
There’s a formatting setting that says you can’t keep replying after so many nested comments, but you can leave a brand new comment and start the threading again.
Enable threaded (nested) comments [10] levels deep.
This is so that the comments don’t get too thin to read since it offsets them as you reply.
Feel free to keep up the discussion, I don’t heavily moderate comments at all.
Huh? What thread got ended. Isn’t this a thread about the genetics quiz? Your reply is the third response in the thread. Or is this overflow from a prior thread or threads?
No thread. The Collie folks are having an extended chat on one of the Collie posts and it sort of spilled over to here.
Your guess is as good as mine. I can’t even figure out how to respond to this person in an appropriate way.
I disagree with #6. If all your dogs are black, you can still get brown dogs.
Raegan recently posted..Training with a Clicker vs Clicker Training
You’re right, you CAN get brown dogs because it’s recessive to black and recessives can hide for many generations.
The question wants to know if it’s possible to create a breed that is ALWAYS black. Which you can, if all your foundation stock has only the dominant black alleles.
The Flat Coat breeders tried to do this, and I think they’ve mostly got the recessive colors bred out.
Jana: The serious scientific findings of a knee jerk reaction relationship assumptions of two separate replies unconnected until your postings now is not warranted. Now again look at what Dr. Schmutz postings.
Thank you for pointing out conclusions that I did not make or in manner understood now suspected possible manipulation of questions. Do not take my answers out of context….please. This could have been idle curiousity, but it no laughing matter. Only the ignornant would laugh at her breeder observations that this expression phenotype is dominant. I am a believer without scientific finding results. Kathy
http://www.eridox.com/studies/dilution.php
I combined a couple of posts because they were all posted by the same person, and seemed to be related to the same subject. Call it a cognitive bias. Also because you had about 200 replies in that thread.
Jana I am quite sure that 200 replies would be questions of combine efforts. The CCA elections tells more than half the collie voting membership. I have also seen writings were simply the collie people will just have to do studies like the Great Dane.
Could they combine their efforts?
This collie specimen to me represents something that one must know their collie history to fully comprehend plus be up on the work in progress in research. The rich brown tan points represent a trait long gone in most collies today. It is not a matter of my personal choices or yours. It is about the perservation of a breed we love and should be protecting.
I personally feel it is thier right and choice to bred this old color pattern without the genetic findings results and the collie genome mapping complete.
I personally prefer all the cards on the table. I do not play high stakes poker with others lives or my collies, not when safer methods are right around the corner. These are semi-lethal genes….that express these phenotypes from my personal studies.
Can any documentation be presented in a scientific manner to at least three generations data on these breedings? Kathy
Jana I am quite sure that 200 replies would be questions of combine efforts. The CCA elections tells more than half the collie voting membership. I have also seen writings were simply the collie people will just have to do studies like the Great Dane.
Could they combine their efforts?
This collie specimen to me represents something that one must know their collie history to fully comprehend plus be up on the work in progress in research. The rich brown tan points represent a trait long gone in most collies today. It is not a matter of my personal choices or yours. It is about the perservation of a breed we love and should be protecting.
I personally feel it is thier right and choice to bred this old color pattern without the genetic findings results and the collie genome mapping complete.
I personally prefer all the cards on the table. I do not play high stakes poker with others lives or my collies, not when safer methods are right around the corner. These are semi-lethal genes….that express these phenotypes from my personal studies.
Can any documentation be presented in a scientific manner to at least three generations data on these breedings? Kathy
Chris I want to apologize to your readers for the run over of some collie chat list.
Jana even states something I posted on this list? Is that retaliation for her letting the cats out of the bag? Guess I know how unpopular I am right now. Sadly, she doesn’t. I did not post on some unknown collie chat site. It is has been at least three years that I have even lurked on one. NO I did not. Strange how they are attacking you for stealing off sites?
They love to cut and paste and manipulate meanings. Again I apolize. Kathy Bittorf
Let them complain, I’m well within the rights of every American to speak freely and to criticize the speech of others. If they don’t want to take the heat for breeding double merle dogs, then they should not do it and they should certainly not brag about it to the public on their websites. If I didn’t take screen-caps, they’d simply delete the evidence and pretend it never happened (Where’s Nadia? Her pictures and any mention of her have disappeared from that website).
Oh please! Just to set the record straight – I’m on four or five Yahoo groups for collies, but I never crossposted any of the conversations from this blog onto those lists.
The only Kathy postings I’ve ever seen are the ones on this blog. I’m only responding to what she’s poted here. She has some kind of persecution complex.
I *do* know her IRL from many years ago, although she probably doesn’t remember me. Oddly enough, I only met her because I was interested in double-merle puppies.
Chris they should be able to properly at least defend scientifically and they can not. Is it still America? I just got told it was no big deal. Just go out there get a blue merle they are everywhere. Where? They are either out of a double merle (white merle) or a merle to merle breeding . Now we
have other choices such as taking a coloboma blind mating to a normal eyed non carrier.
The final insult to expressing any respect for anyone or anything someone else may chose..we have another big choice of lethals of harlequins. Gee raising my hand ..can I now leave the room, or do I need to go clean your kennels first. They actually have the audacity to threaten second hand of course. I learned to never chat on those gossip chat lines a longtime ago …Got the T shirt. Oh yes they disappear and reappear…like sending a third party into this site to manipulate. Just to bad …I do not appreciate the AKC registering this dog as simply a blue merle. Sorry you do not have enough breeding experience or knowledge to understand why. Scary because this pattern really requires skill. It has the hopeful promise to correct lack of technology mistakes made then to correct now. Of course with skillfull breeders that are not just wanting another color of eye candy. Kathy
I’m sure the blue merle with Cyclic Neutropenia is registered simply as a blue merle, as well. The AKC is a registry that keeps track of names, for the most part. Other research has to be done on one’s own time, for better or worse.
Myself, I have left the AKC for (hopefully) greener fields. It’s not any scarier out here than it is in there, though I’m sure most AKC breeders wouldn’t believe me.
Oh I believe you. I find it quite scary. This is why it is not good business practices
nor in the American way for us not to have a say in how a dog like Jake is registered.
It puts you up as his breeder in harms way of legal action. Do you realize that there have been huge battles even among long term friends when a mating produced a harlequin or maltese? This is one of the very reasons tired to make you realize it was not his pigmentation but the false impression it would create making you the scapegoat of ridicule and blame. Kathy
I’m sure I’ve already had a big target painted on my back for years. 🙂 It seems to be a common thing among breeders in general. It’s OK, it keeps me honest.
I would love an open health registry. For now, I’m using the AWFA because they register dogs based on observed work and will put health testing results on your dog’s page. It’s not a perfect system, but IMO it’s the best available today for those of us who work in landrace rather than breed. In the current environment of cutthroat spending and politicking, it’s refreshing to find a small group of people scraping by on minute donations to properly document some dogs whose breeding would otherwise go untracked by anyone but the breeder. To me, that’s the heart of what a registry should be – records kept by a neutral party to back up the breeder.
Well Merry sure there are lurkers right as I write saying Oh God they are together talking treaty or is the term Liason?
Before we have them all have an anxiety attack has anyone told you or read the changes in the A locus updated last August on Coat Color of Dogs? a^y a^w a^t a?
Now what might your Salt Reflection actually represent in this Locus? How different might his K locus actually genetically mark? Rather than ky/ky?
Dr. Lee Ford stated in all her research that the maltese was perfectly healthy?
Sorry, I have been promised by two different folks that have copies that maybe I could make sense of it. But never shared her actual research with me. Oh well. I know what I would be looking to find in her data.
The problem there are not any real creative breeders only ones that want to play with how many new patterns and colors they can create. It is a same they had not taken up art classes instead.
Well I do not want to see what happen to me also with collie grapevine doing their witch hunts blaming you for something that has been there just because of the maltese, or the blue merle. They are barking up the wrong tree. This expression and I believe you is dominant with this specimen.
No books no charts if he is a^w. You are back to the origin sign then in my opinion from studies. What a fantastic opportunity.
However, remember the CCA funds grants. Do not continue to participate if this is the case until in writing full disclosure of findings. Otherwise, go private.
My paid samples and swabs got sold off when I went back for them. Kathy
Kathy
I don’t believe he’s a^w… his coloration is too homogenous for that. In person, he looks like a tricolor whose black fur is gray. The brown patches visible in his photographs are sun bleaching. Up close, his merling pattern is more diffuse than average, but is still present. His only merle patch that is recognizably merle is found on his right ear.
He should be k^y k^y – none of the Agouti alleles should express in the presence of dominant black, and brindle would cause other changes.
I don’t have the resources or enough interest in it to fund the genetic testing privately. It’s been fun to follow, though, and I feel it’s in competent hands.
Well I see other signs on his legs. Indeed there have been brindles and the mixing of brindles is warnings came from Old English warnings, not to mix the two color patterns of brindle. His facial markings indicate the masking that one might find with such a gene present. Well, seems everyone will some how have to get their marker money ready. You got an old pattern expressing. Seems some history in the Akita will jump on this one for combine research.
Kathy Bittorf
This is the problem the AKC is not neutral. A breeder pays for the DNA testing…then you pay the registry. It is all one big ‘cash cow’. Truly you know it is no big deal to have put maltese blue merle.
Problem when folks produced a maltese previously they did not want to face the politics and the social ostraziation.
One can read in old books about varies patterns and brindle is one of them. The merle gene I have speculated viewing puppies that a breeder just could not figure out from photos she sent me for the last three years. I said…that almost looks like a broken brindle patterning but she was also dealing with the expression of harlequin. Puppies were big healthy and strong from photos. Kathy
I could not agree more it is much safer means than this breed clubs and AKC politics.
Well at least a maltese that has served well was not hidden or put down so that now the truth can set us all free. A mutation can be found which does sound like the dominant patterning of the brindle hidden by the merle gene one can surely speculate and postulate from my personal studies. A broken brindle pattern with the merle gene sure does make sense to me. Now the safe breeding pattern? Kathy
Wow how nice not to have the source of what appeared to a be Terriorist Group in Collies after me come front and center. Kathy
I’m not the source of anything, Kathy. I’m just the owner of the dog. Not even that, anymore – he’s owned by my friend Kathe. LOL
Well, another stalker huh front and center.
The confidental informer has used me as her doormat. Now why does she not come out of hiding? Kathy
I doubt Kathe even knows about this conversation. She’s got bigger fish to fry. You were on her site earlier, Bella Collies.
Yes, I was informed of this conversation by other people. No, they’re not stalking you. LOL It’s because my dog was being discussed. I prefer to keep public discussions about Jake well-informed.
The only reason went on her site is she first contacted on a Facebook account alert to what she still believes and your threatening friend is me. I was not on her site today. Yes, I was given quite a list of people wanting to be accepted as friends. I told them to please close this down. I have seen enough. Yes, also got the notice alert of complaint. Some people find how people prey into others lives part of crime prevention or preventing more serious crimes.
As I told your threating friend that is not me, and is not. Someone else has more time than I have to sit.
She attempted first to get me on Facebook through a mutal acquaintance several requests. I explained, do not like Facebook.
Finally gave them permission to give her private e-mail and get this over and done.
Yes seems Bella Collies has been the topic of private discusssions my friends tell me.
I do not talk on their chat sites and again it was another acquaintance who recommended a puppy buyer to me that I sent to another breeder that had the pigmentation she desired.
Yes when the site was posted I looked. When did that become a crime or reason to threaten someone? Photos are difficult to determine genotype even hands.
When you put up websites …stud dogs and sell puppies to the public This is your marketing dogs today you are in business.
Personally really enjoyed yours. I shared yours with my herding friend and she loved it as well the statements of principles and values. She has many working herding collies all from her OFA normal eyed non carrier, VwD and cyclic neutropenia clear normal eyed non carriers and rcd2 clear–and herding titles. Know she does not mind me talking about her on public discussion?
She like me just a little older and wiser that this public marketing could bring no one knows to your door. Kathy
Oh Really? Not from my experiences otherwise we would not be having what should have been a private e-mail or phone conversation with Kate. She got my e-mail. Seems you object to my right of freedom of speech. Well not a libertain so to speak, but I remember speech .. Patrick Henry, “Give Me Liberty or Give me Death”. They fought and died for my rights under the constitution of the United States of America. I come from the State that fought off the British… Where Francis Scott Key wrote our National Athemn on the ship watching the bombing of little Fort McHenry.
His utter amazement as the dawn broke…and said ..Oh say can you see by the dawn’s early light …what so proudly we hail at the twilight last gleaming. Whose broad stripes and bright stars…(he was thrilled the beating they took all night)
the flag is still there…and it still is. God Bless America. Kathy
Is it not time to realize not just in collies but in all breeds social complexitites now divide each breed into two groups.
One that group that desires to follow the classic arts of breeding dogs with standards of constructional engineering skills with new breeding tools of genetic and molecular sciences. The other than wants to follow abstract art skills and anything goes.
Why do you fight and attack like uncivilized animals. See Wonder Dig New York Times today. Have we not had enough fighting over others values and principles in this world? Can you not find a way not to feel you are the only one under attack?
Kathy Bittorf
Merry to look for just merles having “grey collie syndrome or cyclic neutropenia now is witching hunting. Kudos to the person who actually registers the findings. Collies have never had why so many of us left an open health registry. Just as I wanted an open registry for all breeders to see when I got late expression of PRA on a CERF’s normal eyed champion collie.
All pigmentations can be found to be at least carriers in my personal experience with a friend just two years ago of nearly 50 years of breeding. Indeed Exonic SINE insertion at the PTPLA marker reveals at great number of long known problems such as VwD, rcd2, give you a list sometime. Kathy
I’ve been following this conversation from the thread prior, and have had enough interest to find photos and pedigrees of the two females Jake was bred to – and pups from all three of their litters.
I also came across photos of this Border Collie litter today. I am intrigued as the litter is black nosed, I believe black masked, and has the same type of evenly dispersed blue through their coat.
Thought I would show others that might have an interest.
http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee437/LegendCHAZ/408580_299660756746182_258202704225321_827281_1067792473_n.jpg
http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149391
I am not up on Collie breeds and merle. I’d love to know if this color is regulary seen.
Kary
Darn. I thought I could post a photo on a comment and the full comment disappeared.
I have been following this discussion of Jake, and have had interest enough to find the names, photos and pedigrees of the girls he sired litters to and their pups.
I then came across these interesting photos of a Border Collie litter. The same kind of blue intersperced through their coat, and black nosed.
I was wondering if this is often seen in Border Collies.
The photos of the Border Collie pups can be found on this forum page. – http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149391
Kary
New Grey Collie new treatment the coat has partially returned but never to any pigmentation that Jake exhibits? Many affected puppies die in embroynic state…others die before born. Some lived maybe three days they say cry until they die. What was so terrible for those breeders one could not detect the carriers. Think the gene marker revealed in a litter of 9 all were carriers but two the only sign was one puppy born dead that was this funny color like dirty dish water. The collie’s affected lymph glands served research for two early treatments of childhood leukemia.
During this period kept victims alive in sterile labs but believe it was five years old longest life span. The Gene Marker has made it possible to rid our breed of this killer. Kathy Bittorf
Ok, I think it’s time for a cease fire.