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Posted by Paul Hollander on August 26, 2002 at 18:52:04:
In Reply to: newly acquired black rats... Anyone know about genetics? posted by errtu on August 25, 2002 at 18:34:57:
:I got a pair of black rats today. A male brindle and a female leucistic. Does anyone know what I would get if I bred these? I'm thinking normal, or brindle, but I'm not sure..
Bern Bechtel had a piece about rat snake genetics in one of the 1985 issues of the Journal of Heredity.
Leucistic is recessive to normal. Bechtel's leucistics were Texas rat snakes. I've got a feeling that yours is either a mislabeled Texas rat or is derived from a Texas rat x black rat mating somewhere.
Don't know about brindle; AFAIR Bechtel did not have any information about the inheritance in his JH paper. However, I have heard a claim that brindle males are not the same color as brindle females. There is a recessive mutant in pigeons called faded, I think, that acts like this. And Pilgrim geese do, too. If so, brindle could be the first sexlinked mutant gene found in snakes. If brindle is a recessive sexlinked mutant, a brindle male x normal female would produce brindle females and normal (heterozygous brindle) males. If brindle is a recessive, non-sexlinked mutant, than brindle x normal produces all normal (heterozygous brindle) babies.
Putting this information all together. Expect normal babies that are heterozygous leucistic and heterozygous brindle. There may or may not be a Texas rat snake influence in the coloration. If brindles show up, check the sexes to see if there is a chance of sexlinkage. If any leucistics show up, then the male is heterozygous leucistic. Good luck.
Paul Hollander
