Page 18 - Aussie Magazine - 2023 Issue 2

Informative

7 Alleles on the M Locus
Setting the borders for the new Merle alleles #1 - which combinations of alleles can express
was an immense task that came with an with a Merle pattern?
immense responsibility. Merle’s poly-A tail is #2 - how crisp and clear will that pattern be?
a “continuum” from 200 - 280 base pairs. The #3 - which combinations of alleles can delete
word continuum is defined as “a whole with pigment to white within the Merle pattern, and
no part of which is noticeably different from its therefore come with the risk of hearing and/or
adjacent parts, although the ends or extremes vision impairments?
of it are very different from each other. It is
without stop, without a break or interruption.”
So how and why have the base pairs been
broken down into different bins and named
as separate alleles? This was done in order
to address the three most important concerns
that many breeders have.

Unraveling

the Mysteries

of Merle

18 | A Worldwide Magazine for the Aussie • Issue 2/2023