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The explanation behind the third coat color allows for an even deeper look into the complex nature of genetics. Now you might still be wondering where the yellow coat color comes into play. Here is just one example of a monohybrid cross showing the relationship between black and chocolate lab coat colors. If one or both parents contribute a black allele (B), the puppy will be black in color, with a genotype of “BB” or “Bb.” It will be a carrier of the chocolate allele for future generations if the pup has the heterozygous genotype “Bb”. Therefore, a puppy will only be chocolate if each parent contributes a chocolate allele (b) giving the puppy a genotype of “bb”.
![dominant traits in dogs dominant traits in dogs](https://primitivedogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Canaan-Dog.jpg)
The black coat color (B) is dominant to chocolate (b). In the case of Labradors, the black and chocolate colors are determined by dominant and recessive alleles at one gene locus. The next level would be to use Labrador coat color to help students understand the possibilities of offspring in a monohybrid cross. But how can there be two colors that would be recessive?! The explanation becomes quite interesting when you look at the actual genotypes of the labs in question. Students may be able to generalize that yellow and also chocolate coat colors have a recessive nature after examining multiple examples of litters. Certain Labrador coat colors can be “masked” in some generations, but can reappear in later generations. It turns out that the genes behind the coat color of Labrador retrievers provide quite a few opportunities to explore different levels of concepts important to the topic of genetics.Īt the most basic level, surprising litters of Labrador puppies can be used to help students understand the difference between dominant and recessive genes. This had me a bit stumped and quite curious to uncover more about what lies hidden in the genes of Labrador dogs. I later learned that the daddy dog was also a black lab! Well dad must have been a yellow lab, right?Ĭome to find out, I was quite wrong. So what would a logical explanation be for some puppies that look nothing like mom? Most were black labs like mom, but there were some that were yellow as well. I did find it a bit curious to see that some of the puppies nestled in with the mother were of a different color than she was. Who doesn’t love going to see some brand new adorable puppies? Of course we had to go for a visit! I knew from past experience being educated by a sister in love with dogs of all breeds, that Labradors came in three colors: black, chocolate, and yellow. Some friends of ours just welcomed a brand new litter of Labrador puppies similar to the ones seen in photo below. Developed by Nicole Gerardo, November 2016Ĭoncept: Heredity/Genetics (dominant/recessive alleles, monohybrid cross, di-hybrid cross)