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ej: JAPANESE HARLEQUIN (ALSO CALLED HARLEQUIN)
The Japanese Harlequin gene (also known as just harlequin and sometimes shortened to “harli”) produces a brindled pattern by segregating the dark brown and yellow pigments. It keeps the bands of color in separate areas rather than on one hair shaft. This gene causes some areas to over produce black pigmentation, and some areas to under produce black pigmentation.
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This is an interesting gene in that if you add the broken gene (more on this later- this is a separate gene on its own locus), then the rabbit becomes a tri-colored rabbit (or tri) and the pattern is broken up differently (dark spots on a lighter field rather then stripes or splotches).
To make things further interesting, this gene can be expressed partially with only one copy on agouti (A_) and tan (at_) rabbits with E in the dominant spot. It would be hidden on a self rabbit (aa). Typical signs of this expression are spotting along the edges and/or insides of the ears, around the eyes, and faint banding on the cream/white belly of the rabbit. |
e: NON-EXTENSION
e (non-extension) is the most recessive gene in the E locus, and can only be dominant with a copy of itself (ee). e removes most dark brown piment and blocks extension of black pigment. Only the yellow/red pigment shows so you get colors like tort, orange, red, and cream. When its effect is imperfect because of other modifiers, you can sometimes get “smut” or “soot” on the rabbit. The darker pigments barely extend up the hair shaft and are quickly replaced by another color. The result is that the rabbit’s coat appears to be shaded, despite there not being a cchl gene. This is because the darker color at the base of the fur is only showing up on the parts of the body with shorter hair- ears, nose, paws, tail, flank, etc. The hair is not long enough in those places to show the other colors that appear on the longer hair shafts.
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