Genetic Mysteries

There are many facets in the breeding of mice. Scientists do it to help find cures for the ailments of people. Snake and carnivore owners breed and raise mice to feed other animals. Fancy mouse breeders breed special colors and combinations to sell as pets and to improve the look and feel of mice in general, improving upon the species.

With so many people out there breeding mice for so many different reasons, in the end what happens is that there are some genetic combinations that crop up that are extremely beautiful. But the genetics of the variety is unknown to your average fancy mouse breeder.

This page is about a few of those varieties which are the most puzzling, including a few of my own guesses as to what their genetics are, etcetera. When or if I have the chance to work with some of these mice, I plan on doing my best to unravel the genetic mysteries and present clear and concise data to those who are interested.

Merle

Merle mice are a delightful mix of roan colored patches and solid colored patches. Instead of having one color with patches of white, they have a color with patches of roan. One theory out there regards the spots of solid coloring to be the real aberration. A Rn Roan mouse has some modifier, let's call it Rn^m, that causes the roan to not spread over the mouse completely. Some patches of solid color peek through. Other theories have to do with whether or not they really are on the same locus, but instead they might be linked genes, or even a polymorphic trait. I hope someday to have both Roans and Merles in my mousery so that I might solve the mystery of the Merles.

Reverse Siamese

Reverse siamese is another strange coloration of mice. Rather than the acromelanic combination of dark points and light body, these mice have a dark body with light ears, nose, points. The actual genetics to create this combination are unknown. Reverse siamese mice that are fox also have been known, and since it takes a double c^ch for fox mice, this leads me to believe that it isn't the c-locus which is responsible for the reverse siamese appearance. Yet another mystery that is a difficult one to understand.