[Jacob-list] Hebrideans (Fred's comments)

[Jacobflock at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/8/2003 7:46:59 AM Central Standard Time, 
gordon at westergladstone.fsnet.co.uk writes:

> The Hebridean breed was developed from black individuals from the old 
> Scottish Dunface, a multicoloured type (from the days before we had 
> 'breeds' in the modern sense.)  Clearly, these individuals were black 
> recessive, in line with other Northern Shorttailed Sheep colour genetics.  
> However, these animals were then taken into English parklands with other 
> breeds including the Jacob, where it is thought that the black Dominant 
> gene was acquired. So by the time Hebrideans were recognised as a separate 
> and distinct breed, dominant black was already a part of their genetic 
> make-up. The exact proportion of dominant to recessive black is not known, 
> but to say that those animals which are black dominant are not true 
> Hebrideans is innacurate.  What is true is that you cannot tell the 
> Genotype from looking at the Phenotype.
> 

Yes, the information I referred to was the Parfait & Sheppy progeny test. It 
was to illustrate the point that the color we see can be dominant or 
recessive ( phenotype masking genotype but leaving behind traces of the 
genotype evidence).  I always get hung-up on the old saw:  
Phenotype=Genotype+Environment  ...  and by shorthand substitution ...  Breed 
= Phenotype = Genotype + Environment.  

Fred Horak 


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