# Understanding Roan and creating Merle



## Bryana (Nov 30, 2009)

I have a nice little blue roan girl that I would love to try to duplicate or try my hand at merles with. How can I make this possible? She was in a feeder bin so I don't have information on her background.

Thanks.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

Where did you find her in a petstore? They're not very common in petstores in the US. You may have a variegated or a splashed on your hands, which can look roan.

I don't think you can "create" merle out of roan, sorry. The merling is where the roan is "turned off" and if it's not already turned off by the heretofore scientifically undescribed modifier/gene, you can't do it.


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## Bryana (Nov 30, 2009)

I assumed you could "create" a merle through a roan based off other websites which have described a merle mouse being one that is roan with solid patches. My mistake. I found her at a little hole in the wall pet store in town.

Included phone picture for others' opinions.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Wow! That is a way cool variegated or splashed mousie! Definitely not roan and I want to know who bred that mousie. It looks one single color aplashed against white. Is that right?


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

She already said she's from a feeder bin.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

Yeah, and her profile doesn't say where she lives. Yes, I do think about going on my very own Mouse Hunt to track down the origins of this cool looking critter!


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## WillowDragon (Jan 7, 2009)

Tis a very cool looking mousie!! 

Willow xx


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## Bryana (Nov 30, 2009)

Lol yep from the feeder bin. Only one remotely looking like her but I may have to frequent that shop and see if any more show up. What should I take this to breeding wise? If she is a splashed that means the gene hasn't been isolated yet (if there is a gene at all) right?

This mouse was found in Santa Clara California


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

A few fanciers in the US associated with the ECMA have decided that Splashed will be represented at least for now as Spl/* as it acts as a simple dominant.

If she is splashed, the best mate is a non-albino C-locus dilute, assuming you want more splashed.


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## WillowDragon (Jan 7, 2009)

I know that varigated (over this side of the pond anyway) is a combo of two different white genes. Splashed, I have no idea! LOL We don't have that gene over here.

Breed her to a self coloured mouse, and then cross back a male offspring to her. Or breed the siblings together.
Thats what i'd do... though others may have better idea's! lol

Willow xx


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## Bryana (Nov 30, 2009)

Would an example of that be a stone?


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

Of a C-locus dilute, yes. Another would be beige, siamese, and himalayan.

Any animal who has two C-locus dilute alleles excluding "c/c" will show splashed, to varying degrees as long as other inhibiting factors are not present (such as recessive yellow--recessive yellow can make the splashes very faint or invisible).

If the mouse is C/* and splashed (Spl/* C/*), it will not show splashed and will be indistinguishable from a mouse who is C/* and not splashed (spl/spl C/*).


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## Bryana (Nov 30, 2009)

Awesome, thank you for the information.

When I bought her and the boy I have now she was put into a cage with him. Here he is... I don't know if he would be a banded or marked...

Assuming banded.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

Banded is a form of marked. He is likely recessive white spotted (s/s) and the spots just happened to fall where they did.


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## moustress (Sep 25, 2009)

It's a gene, somehere, somehow; by now there are probablly quite a number of transgenic combos that have showed up in the pet and fancy mouse supply. I've been working with a line that carries something like this, but not 'zackly like this. On top of every other weird thing about transgenic meeces, there's a type that produces hermaphrodites(XXY), and a type that translocates portions of the chromosome 7 that affect the c-locus and a-locus, and whether any or all of these qualities are present in any given odd unclassifiable mousie is anybody's guess. Someone has yet to take a look in the genes we find in the mouse fancy and attribute the correct genotypes to the phenotypes.

(They're Pinky, they're Pinky, they're Pinky and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain....)


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

At least two breeders I know of (one in Wisconsin and one in New York) have lines of mice who produce hermaphrodites.



moustress said:


> a type that translocates portions of the chromosome 7 that affect the c-locus and a-locus


Please decribe what you mean in further detail.


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