got some noobie sanke ?s for ya

Originally Posted by JungleCage

oh ok i understand completely now, it makes total sense. i didnt hear about there being 2 genes involved. so if i have this right, a visible albino (lets just say albino) will carry 2 genes of the albino-ism, and a 100% het (normal looking) will only have 1 gene of albino-ism trait? is that right? is a Visible albino concidered a 100% het? (in terms of listing) they obviously carry the trait 100%.

100% Het means that they look normal, wild type, but carry the gene that makes (Albino) babies.
Any visual morph, in this case Albino, will make 100% het babies (at the very worst) regardless of what you breed it to
A 100% het x 100% het breedings is where things get complicated. Only 25% of those babies will come out visual, Albino. You, then, will also get 66% het and 33% normal (wild type).

yay i get it! thanks for all your help. some guy at the reptile store tried explaining it to me but he made it super complicated. thanks for all the help!

Albino = Having the absent or deficient melanin. Widely used term for "Amelanistic".

Allele = Either of the two paired genes which affect an inheritable trait.

Amelanistic = Having no melanin.

Anerythristic = Having no red color.

Axanthic = Having no yellow color.

Co-dominant = A gene that causes the homozygous form to look different than the wild-type and the heterozygous form to have traits of both. Some examples of this would be the Pastel, Woma Tiger, Yellow Belly, Mojave, Red Axanthic, Platinum, Butter, Cinnamon, Fire, Calico and Spot nose Ball Pythons.

Chromosome = Each cell in every living thing has a nucleus. Much of the nucleus is made up of a constant number of paired chromosomes. Each chromosome is a single, long strand of DNA in a protein matrix. The strand of DNA contains many genes.

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) = Molecules bearing genetic information of all living cells. Gene. Also referred to as “unit of inheritance.”

Dominant = A gene that causes an animal to look different than the wild-type and where the homozygous form and the heterozygous form look the same as each other. A simple example of this would be the Spider, Pinstripe and Granite Ball Pythons.

Double Heterozygous = being heterozygous for two different traits.

Triple Heterozygous = Heterozygous at three gene loci.



P generation = Two unlike individuals that begin a genetics experiment, or breeding program.



F1 generation = First filial generation; the offspring of the P generation. An F1 is a single member of the F1 generation.



F2 generation = Second filial generation; the offspring of two F1s.



F3 generation = Third filial generation; the offspring of two F2s.

Gene = Unit of heredity that determines the characteristics of the offspring.

Genetics = The study of heredity.

Genotype = An organism’s genetic composition. Heredity - the transmission of genetic characters from parents to offspring.

Het = An abbreviation for heterozygous.

Heterozygous = Possessing two different genes for a given trait. An animal with one mutated, recessive gene still appears normal; its mutated gene can be inherited by future offspring. A co-dominant animal is heterozygous for the dominant form of its mutated gene, yet is different in appearance than both the wild-type and homozygous forms.

Homozygous = A state in which both genes for a specific trait are the same. When a recessive gene is it its homozygous form, it makes the animal look different from the wild-type. When a dominant gene is in its homozygous state, it causes the animal to look different from both the wild-type and the heterozygous (co-dominant) forms.

Hypomelanistic = An animal having less black and/or brown color than a wild-type.

Leucistic = A pure white animal with dark eyes.

Locus = A gene's position on a chromosome (plural: loci)

Melanin = Black or brown skin pigments.

Melanistic = Abnormally dark, especially due to an increase of melanin.

Mutation = An abnormal gene that under certain circumstances can cause an animal to be born with an appearance other than wild-type.

Normal = An animal with no mutated genes - "wild type" in appearance. (See wild type)

Phenotype = An animal’s external appearance, as caused by its genotype.

Possible Het = An animal from a known breeding that has either a 50% or 66% possibility of being "heterozygous" for a mutant gene.

A 66% possible het comes from breeding 2 heterozygous animals together: 50% of the offspring are heterozygous, 25% will be homozygous, and 25% will be wild-type. Of the normal appearing animals, 66% (or roughly 2 out of 3) will actually be heterozygous for the mutated gene.

A 50% possible het comes from breeding a heterozygous animal to a wild-type animal. All of the resulting offspring will be wild-type in appearance, but 50% of them will actually be heterozygous for the mutated gene and must be bred out to determine which animals are really hets.

Punnett Square = A learning tool for determining the possible outcomes of a given cross between individuals. It was developed by R.C. Punnett, an early British geneticist.

Recessive = A gene that affects an animal's appearance if it's present in the homozygous state. A heterozygous animal carrying a mutated, recessive gene looks normal. Some examples of this would be Albino, Ghost/Hypo, Caramel Albino, Axanthic, Piebald, Clown, Desert Ghost, Orange Ghost, Hypo, Genetic Stripe and Lavender Albino Ball Pythons.

Super = A Commonly used Herpetocultural term for the Dominant form of a Co-dominant mutation, I.E. Super Pastel.

Tyrosinase = An enzyme required for synthesizing melanin.

Tyrosinase-negative = An albino whose cells lack tyrosinase, producing a white and yellow/orange animal with pink eyes. A separate albino mutation from tyrosinase-positive. Also called T- .

Tyrosinase-positive = An albino not able to synthesize melanin, but capable of synthesizing tyrosinase, which results in lavender-brown skin color. Also referred to as T+.

Wild-type = The way the animal usually looks in nature (i.e. the normal color and pattern).

Xanthic = Having more yellow color than wild-type.


I hope some of this will help you out. It helped me out a lot when i first started all this.

yeah it did, ill save this in word. im sure ill use it alot.

I am going to have to make sure to bookmark this thread because there is some great information here. Thanks to all who contributed!

And thanks to the people asking questions because I always learn something, too!

This should be a sticky somewhere!

Albino = Having the absent or deficient melanin.

Actually, the scientific definition of "albino" is a marked deficiency in pigmentation. Absence of melanin is not the only form of albinism. Anerythristic and Axanthic are also examples of albinism.




As far as inheritance, the full explanation of the modes of inheritance are as follows (even though not all follow the "technical" terms)...

Simple Recessive

A gene that is phenotypically expressed in the homozygous state but has its expression masked in the presence of a dominant gene.

So what does this mean? A recessive mutation will only be reproduced if both parents are expressing or carrying the morph gene. To determine by breeding trials whether or not the mutation is simple recessive, the morph must be bred to a Wildtype. Retain the offspring from the pairing, raise them up to breeding size and then breed them back to the morph parent. This is easiest done when you have a morph male to breed back to his daughters.

Using Ball Pythons as an example, Albino and Hypomelanistic (Ghost) are examples of recessive mutation.

Co-Dominant

Relationship between two alleles where both are expressed equally when heterozygous to each other, resulting in three phenotypes; Wildtype, Heterozygous and Homozygous. Red + White = Equal Parts Red & White.

So what does this mean? A co-dominant mutation can be reproduced if one parent is heterozygous or homozygous for the mutation. To determine by breeding trials whether or not a mutation is co-dominant, two breeding trials are necessary. First, the heterozygous needs paired with a Normal, if the mutation is co-dominant, the morph will be reproduced in the first generation (f1). To determine if the homozygous phenotype is different then the heterozygous, the f1 morphs produced from the first generation should be held back, raised up to breeding size and bred back to the morph parent. If the second generation (f2) produces a homozygous that is phenotypically different then the heterozygous (and the heterozygous phenotype is a equal expression between Wildtype and the Homozygous), the morph is co-dominant.

I'm not aware of an example of true co-dominance in any reptile, but Ultra and Amelanistic in Cornsnakes are co-dominant to each other (scroll down to the bottom).

Incomplete Dominant

Relationship between two alleles where both are expressed in a blending when heterozygous to each other, resulting in three phenotypes; Wildtype, Heterozygous and Homozygous. Red + White = Pink.

So what does this mean? An incomplete dominant mutation can be reproduced if one parent is heterozygous or homozygous for the mutation. To determine by breeding trials whether or not a mutation is co-dominant, two breeding trials are necessary. First, the heterozygous needs paired with a Normal, if the mutation is incomplete dominant, the morph will be reproduced in the first generation (f1). To determine if the homozygous phenotype is different then the heterozygous, the f1 morphs produced from the first generation should be held back, raised up to breeding size and bred back to the morph parent. If the second generation (f2) produces a homozygous that is phenotypically different then the heterozygous(and the heterozygous phenotype is a blending expression between Wildtype and the Homozygous), the morph is incomplete dominant.

Using Ball Pythons as an example, Pastel and Mojave are examples of Incomplete Dominance.

Dominant

Relationship between two alleles where both are expressed in the heterozygous and homozygous phenotype. Their is no visual difference between the two expressions, resulting in only two phenotype.

So what does this mean? An dominant mutation can be reproduced if one parent is heterozygous or homozygous for the mutation. To determine by breeding trials whether or not a mutation is dominant, two breeding trials are necessary. First, the heterozygous needs paired with a Normal, if the mutation is dominant, the morph will be reproduced in the first generation (f1). To determine if the homozygous phenotype is different then the heterozygous, the f1 morphs produced from the first generation should be held back, raised up to breeding size and bred back to the morph parent. If the second generation (f2) does not produce a homozygous that is phenotypically different then the heterozygous, the morph is dominant.

Using Ball Pythons as an example, Spider and Pinstripe are examples of a dominant mutation.

Selective Breeding

Breeding program which has a goal of reproducing or enhancing a particular look found in the parents.

So what does this mean? A selectively bred mutation is developed by spending several generations refining a particular look, breeding like animals together to achieve a goal in color or pattern. One of the best examples of this is the Candycane in Cornsnakes. Enthusiasts have spent years developing the mutation for a crisp white background and bright red or orange saddles. The key to selectively bred morphs is the understanding that by breeding them to unalike morphs you are diluting the goal look. Using the Candycane example, if you breed to a standard Amelanistic, the resulting offspring will be lower quality examples of the morph.

Variances to the Genetic “Rules”

One of the blessings of working with nature is that she will do as she pleases and does not always follow the rules defined by science. So in turn, science has to bend to fit her wants. Co-Dominant, Incomplete Dominant and Dominant are not necessarily always reflected in comparison to the Wildtype. While this makes for some excitement in the morph world, it can cause a lot of confusion.

In Cornsnakes, Ultra and Amel are recessive mutations, however Ultra and Amel are also Co-Dominant to each other. What this means is that Ultra and Amel are Alleles that are located on the same Locus in the genetic code of Cornsnakes. The result of a Cornsnake that carries an allele for Ultra and an allele for Amel is a phenotype that expresses the two mutations in an equal blending, Ultramel.




I spent a long time writing this article...Hope it helps!
What Makes a Morph

Thanks for the info everyone!

Thanks a lot many people are afraid to ask questions about this topic they feel like they should know and people will look at them like they are just dumb. I learned a ton from this and I agree it should be a sticky!!! It will educate and help a lot of people I have people ask me all the time about this. Frankly I just don't know a lot about it to answer their questions some times people just don't take you serious if you don't know thanks again.

Just want to offer a correction of sorts on some terms being used...I won't say WRONGLY, but possibly misleading in a way.

The term Heterozygous (key word hetero) literally means that a pair of genes are UN-alike. Doesn't have to be for any given trait, although it is often used in that way.

Homozygous (key word Homo) means that the pair are alike. Regardless of trait or mutation.

Carry on.