In Quest of the Elusive Red Alaskan Klee Kai
UKC Bloodlines Magazine Feb 2004
Author: Aprilfawn
White
Editor: Jim Butler
I once told someone that there is
really no need for any vehicles out on the road to be of different colors, they could all be solid black and all work just
as efficiently. Nevertheless, the cars we see in the streets are not all black, as it is human nature to appreciate
variety. Coat color should never be the only factor in any breeding program. Health, conformation, and temperament
should always be first and foremost. However, understanding the genetics behind how coat colors come about is fascinating,
and the understanding of basic recessive inheritance can also help one understand the genetics behind more important traits
related to health (i.e. recessive diseases). The following information is designed to give an introduction to recessive inheritance,
introduce you to the ‘b’ gene, and tell you about a kit that you can use to screen your Alaskan Klee Kai (AKK) for this
gene.
About 9 months ago, I set out on a project to gain more color variety within the AKK population. At
that time, only one dog existed with a red coat. (Alasco’s Tyler First Red Alkai- DOB 8/16/99). The AKK were bred down from the larger
husky-type dogs so I based my first research on the genetic data that had already been published on the larger breeds.
The gene believed to cause the red coat color in larger huskies is a recessive ‘b’ gene, and from genotyping we have found this to be
the case within the AKK population. Many of the AKK breeders sent pedigrees of their dogs to me and I took on the task
of mapping probabilities and creating a database to track dogs that could carry the ‘b’ gene.
I discussed this research with several people at Vetgen, to see if they could adapt their Chromagene™ test to also screen
the AKKs for this gene. As of the fall of 2002, the kit was confirmed and is now available to the public for purchase.
Let’s talk about color. As far as coat colors within this population there is black, grey, white,
and red in varying shades (dogs with white coat can not be registered in the UKC as they are not within the breed standard).
Genetically there are only two color genes which are thought to determine the coat color within this population- the dominant
Black (B) & recessive Brown (b). It is our understanding at this time that all AKK are made up of varying shades of these two basic colors.
White and grey are non-color genes working to make the Black (B) and Brown (b) line dogs appear to look different.
For example- the grey is a pattern gene which can make a black dog look grey.
The following are designations of
color genes that contribute to coat coloring as it is now understood:
Dominant Black line dogs (B) can appear
to be black, grey, agouti, and black nosed whites.
Recessive Brown line dogs (b) can be all shades of
red, or white with liver nose.
Keep in mind that dominants can ‘carry’ the recessive gene, but a recessive
dog can never ‘carry’ the dominant gene. The following Punnett squares will help you understand these concepts.
An introduction to Mendel’s Theory of Dominant and Recessive inheritance.
Key:
D = Dominant
r = recessive
Say two black dogs that carried a recessive gene were bred together and they produced four progeny.
Each parent passes on one gene (D or r) to each offspring.
Parent’s
(Keep in mind Sire and Dam can be on either side
(brown or green in table - there is no sex link)
Possible progeny
5 scenarios of Mendel’s theory applied to the AKK- specifically the ‘b’ gene which causes red coat.
Key:
Dominant Black line = B
Recessive Brown line (red) = b
BB- A dog does not carry the gene for red coat (Homozygous dominant)
Bb- A dog carries the gene for red coat (Heterozygous)
bb- A dog with a red coat (Homozygous recessive)
Scenario one:
A. Two parents with red coats are bred together;
Parent’s
Puppies out of this crossing will all be homozygous recessive (bb) and have a
red coat.
(It is also thought possible but very rare to also produce white with a red/liver nose from this mating.)
B. Two Black line dogs bred together;
Parent’s
Puppies out of this crossing will be black, although grey and white
can also occur.
No puppies of red coat will be produced from this type of mating nor will any pass down the ‘b’ gene.
Scenario two:
A Black line parent that does not carry the ‘b’ gene for red coat is bred
to a black line parent that carries the 'b' gene.
Parent’s
Puppies out of the breeding will not have red coat, but ~ 50% will carry the ‘b’ gene.
Scenario Three:
Parents that both have the ‘b’ gene bred together;
Parent’s
Puppies out of this breeding will result in black line dogs that are not carriers (BB/~25%),
dogs that carry
the ‘b’
gene (Bb/~50%), and
dogs with red coat (bb/~25%).
Scenario Four:
One parent carries
the ‘b’
gene is bred to another parent with red coat;
Parent’s
All of the puppies from this mating will all carry the ‘b’ gene; ~50% will be with red coat.
Scenario Five:
One parent that does not carry the ‘b’ gene is bred to a parent with red coat (bb);
Parent’s
All puppies will carry the ‘b’ gene but none will have red coats.
If you have an AKK and wish to become a part of this ongoing project for variety
within this population- you can order a kit through VETGEN to screen for the ‘b’
gene. They will send you a kit to swab your dog’s cheek and you just need to do the job and send it back. When they
send your results they will have ‘e’ and ‘b’ genes listed. We are also tracking the ‘e’ gene for research purposes.
I am asking that breeders who have genotyping done email the results and name of your AKK to me to be kept in the database
to assist in the research of these coat colors. If the result comes back as ‘Bb’ then your dog carries the ‘b’ gene and can produce puppies with a red coat
if bred to other dogs/bitches that carry the ‘b’ gene. It is my hopes to soon publish a webpage of all AKK that carry the ‘b’
gene. Hopefully by tracking the genotypes, using selective breeding to only the best dogs, and ongoing pedigree research,
we will eventually see some more show quality red AKK out there.
To order this kit just call Vetgen Toll
Free: 800-483-8436 US
and Canada and request “kit number C123 - Alaskan Klee Kai”. You may visit them at http://vetgen.com/
Please email the results to thehappyscientist@yahoo.com for entry of the genotype into the database.
Acknowledgements;
Special
thanks go out to all the great people at Vetgen for getting this kit up and running for the public, Jim Butler, and all the
other wonderful AKK breeders out there who have made contributions to this project.
About the author;
Aprilfawn White is a Research Associate II who is presently employed in the Protein Sciences group of the Genomics Institute
of Novartis Foundation in La Jolla Ca. Her background has been in human genomics within the research of Alzheimer’s
disease, breast cancer, SIDS, automation, and her present project is cloning for the JCSG Project: http://www.jcsg.org.
She has been involved in research at GNF, Neurogenetics, Diversa, PpGx, and DNA Sciences. Mendelian genetics of birds and
canines have been her hobby for the past 12 years. This project was self-funded, and she receives no compensation.
2011 UPDATE
Aprilfawn is no longer at GNF but working in the bio-warfare
division of another San Diego Biotech Company as a Senior Research Associate working in bio-warfare defense. Please
see "Scientific Publications" for a list of 30+ Scientific Journal Publications which Aprilfawn is an author on.
