Coat colour inheritance in American mink (Neovison vison): Pedigree analysis

Abstract

This work aims to establish a simplified genotype for American mink (Neovison vison), on the basis of a group of basic genes (Asip, Tyrp–1, Tyr, Myo–5a, and Mc–1r) and three modifying genes (fawn, Ednrb, and Kit). The analysis used pedigrees of 61 females of standard brown, palomino, and silverblue colour variations. The database covered 380 offspring in nine colour variations: brown, silverblue, palomino, brown cross, palomino cross, pearl, pastel, silverpastel, and white. The analysis led to a simplified genotype explaining the principles of inheritance of most common coat colour variations in Polish mink farms. Due to the limited number of animals and the limited number of colour variations used, the analysis could not test the inheritance of all colours found in mink. The genotype was constructed on the basis of the homologous genes responsible for coat colour found in most animal species.

Environmental and Genetic Factors Influencing the Rearing Performance in Mink (Neovison Vison)

“…It is a variety used to derive many mutations of mink [Baranowski and Żuk 2020]. The most popular mutational color varieties include mink: palomino, silverblue, black cross, pearl, pastel, white (Hedlund and Regal), and sapphire [Wacławik et al 2020].…”

Coat color inheritance in American mink

“…Over the past decades, no research has been conducted using pedigree to understand the influence of crossbreeding on the inheritance of specific colors. The genotypes of nine colors of American mink including Pastel, raised in Poland were identified based on the similarity of colors in other mammalian species [ 20 ], yet the color inheritance in mink remains unclear.…”