Genetics and Breeding

If any of the assertions below contradict what you believe about alpaca base coat color genetics, it’s definitely worth reading this blog post and continuing on to a very friendly, fun-loving statistical analysis that is available in our website’s library! 1. First, all white alpacas can produce color when they are bred to it. There is no such thing as a homozygous dominant white animal. In fact, a pink-skinned white is in some ways as recessive a creature as a true black. 2. What’s more, many fawns are not just “dilute” but carry a white base coat color allele, which acts to dilute a brown allele in the production of the phenotypic coat color. You can actually breed two fawns together and get a homozygous white. 3. White breeders, no need to rely on those pure-white pedigrees to make sure you don’t produce fawns and browns. Turns out a brown allele can’t really hide itself well phenotypically. 4. Color breeders, to introduce white genetics into a color breeding program with lower odds of producing white offspring, breed that white animal to brown. The darker, the better. more »

The segregation of suri and huacaya fleece types in alpacas in the United States deviates from that expected from results of previously published studies from other regions. Suri × suri matings produced 278 huacaya and 1702 suri offspring. Suri × huacaya matings produced 89 huacaya and 56 suri offspring. Huacaya × huacaya matings produced 19,633 huacaya and 4 suri offspring. No linkage or other influence of sex was noted. These results are consistent with a single autosomal dominant gene controlling suri fleece production, with an additional relatively common genetic mechanism that can suppress the suri phenotype in some animals. These results are especially important in cases where the two fleece types are crossed with one another, as they result in a relative underproduction of suri fleeces. more »