Agouti (AGOUTI)
Black, Agouti Bay/Black, Bay Horse/Non Bay Horse
All horses have a base coat of either black or red pigment which is controlled by mutations in two genes. The Agouti (AGOUTI) gene determines the distribution of black pigment in a horse’s coat. The black pigment can either be distributed to the “points” of the body (ear rims, lower legs, mane, tail, etc.) or uniformly distributed throughout the horse’s coat. Horses with two copies of the Agouti mutation will have a uniformly black coat. This is also dependent on the horse’s genetic status for the Red Factor mutation. If a horse carries two copies of the Red Factor mutation, they will exhibit a red coat color regardless of their Agouti status. Horses with a single copy or no copy of the Red Factor mutation will be affected by two copies of the Agouti mutation.
Reading Your Results
A. (CLEAR/NORMAL):
These horses have two copies of the normal gene and will neither develop a uniformly distributed black coat color nor pass this mutation to their offspring.
B. (CARRIER/NOT AFFECTED):
These horses have one copy of the normal gene and one copy of the mutation associated with this coat color. They will not develop a uniformly distributed black coat color and will, if bred, pass the mutation to 50% of its offspring, on average.
C. (AT RISK/AFFECTED):
These horses have two copies of the mutation associated with uniformly distributed black pigment which typically results in a black base coat color. However, this horse’s coat color is also dependent on the Red Factor mutation.
Available For:
- American Paint Horse
- American Quarter Horse
- Appaloosa
- Appendix
- Arabian
- Australian Stock Horse
- Belgian
- Cob Normand
- Exmoor Pony
- Haflinger
- Miniature Horse
- Missouri Fox Trotter
- Morgan
- Mustang
- Noriker
- Percheron
- Pony of the Americas
- Rhenish German Coldblood
- Rocky Mountain Horse
- Saxon-Thuringian Coldblood
- Shire
- South German Coldblood
- Tennessee Walking Horse
- Thoroughbred
Additional Details
Inheritances
Autosomal Recessive
Affected gene
ASIP
Chromosome
Ch. 22
Mutation
c.191_201del (11-bp deletion exon 2 base 192); p.loss of function protein
Publication:
Rieder S, Taourit S, Mariat D, Langlois B, Guérin G. Mutations in the agouti (ASIP), the extension (MC1R), and the brown (TYRP1) loci and their association to coat color phenotypes in horses (Equus caballus). Mamm Genome. 2001;12(6):450-455. [PubMed: 11353392]
