Dilution gene

Dilution gene is a popular term for any one of a number of genes that act to create a lighter coat color in living creatures. There are many examples of such genes:

General

Diluted coat colors have melanocytes, but vary from darker colors due to the concentration or type of these pigment-producing cells, not their absence. Pigment dilution, sometimes referred to as hypomelanism, has been called leucism, albinism (perfect, impartial, or dilute), ghosting, paling, and isabellinism.^[1]

• Albinism describes a condition where there is no color pigment
• Leucism describes a condition that creates loss of pigment cells

Cats

• Cat coat genetics discusses many dilution genes in cats

Horses

• Equine coat color genetics discusses color genes in horses, including a brief description of dilution genes
• Equine coat color describes various colors in horses
• Cream gene, describes the process for horses by which the cremello, perlino, smoky cream double-dilute colors are created as well as the buckskin, palomino and smoky black single dilute colors.
• Dun gene describes another common dilution gene in horses
• Champagne gene, describes a different and rarer dilution gene in horses that also creates cream coloring, pale skin with mottling and light-colored eyes.
• Pearl gene, also called the "Barlink factor," is a recessive gene. One copy of the allele has no effect on the coat color of black, bay or chestnut horses. Two copies on a chestnut horse produce a pale, uniform apricot color of body hair, mane and tail as well as pale skin. It also interacts with Cream dilution to produce "pseudo-double" Cream dilutes with pale skin and blue or green eyes.
• Silver dapple gene, describes a dilution gene that works in a unique manner, lighting the mane and tail of a horse to a greater degree than the body color (opposite of most dilution genes, which act more strongly on the body color)
• White (horse) describes several unique genetic processes that create truly white, not diluted, color in horses.
• Gray (horse) explains the process of the gray gene, which lightens the coat over time, but is not a dilution gene.
• Mushroom (horse) describes an unknown and unmapped theorized dilution gene dilutes red pigment in body color to a pale beige color.

References

See also

• wikispecies:Felis sylvestris catus (cat)
• wikispecies:Equus caballus (horse)

Equine coat colors
Base coat colors	Extension (MC1R) base colors Black Chestnut (also known as Sorrel) Agouti (ASIP)-influenced colors Bay Seal brown
Gray	Gray
Dilution genes	Champagne Cream Buckskin Palomino (also known as Isabelline) Smoky black Cremello Perlino Smoky cream Dun (see also Blue dun or Grullo) Pearl Silver dapple
White	Dominant white Sabino-white Lethal white syndrome
Horse markings and patterns	Pinto patterns Overo Splashed white Frame Sabino Tobiano Tovero Base color variations (primarily UK English) Piebald Skewbald Tricoloured Leopard complex Varnish roan See also Appaloosa and Knabstrupper Roaning patterns Roan Rabicano
Other	Bend-Or spots Brindle Cropout Liver Pangaré Point coloration Primitive markings Sooty Flaxen Mushroom
Genetics and breeding	Equine coat color genetics Color breed Horse genome Wildtype Melanin Agouti signalling peptide KIT gene Endothelin receptor type B STX17 (Gray)
Category:Horse coat colors