1.0, .4, .25, etc.? Have some questions.

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Originally Posted by Eric Alan

... As far as the Het thing goes, it only refers to recessive genes (albino, piebald, clown, hypo, etc). ....

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This claim is one of my pet peeves. It is partly true, but it's not the whole truth. Heterozygous refers to the makeup of gene pairs. One of the genes in the gene pair may be a recessive mutant gene, but it is not required to be.

Definitions:
Homozygous = the two genes in a gene pair are the same. Examples -- two normal genes, two albino genes, two pinstripe genes, etc.
Heterozygous = the two genes in a gene pair are NOT the same. Examples -- a pied mutant gene paired with a normal gene, a pastel mutant gene paired with a normal gene, a pinstripe mutant gene paired with a normal gene, a lesser platinum mutant gene paired with a mojave mutant gene, etc.

The belief that all hets look normal originated among herpers when all known mutant genes were recessive to the corresponding normal gene. Those days are long over, but many herpers have not caught up yet.

Anyone who can understand why flipping a coin twice can produce 4 possible outcomes can learn genetics.

Here are a couple of more links that may be useful.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punnett_square
http://www.redtailboas.com/f115/no-f...s-guide-53782/

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Originally Posted by paulh

This claim is one of my pet peeves. It is partly true, but it's not the whole truth. Heterozygous refers to the makeup of gene pairs. One of the genes in the gene pair may be a recessive mutant gene, but it is not required to be.

Definitions:
Homozygous = the two genes in a gene pair are the same. Examples -- two normal genes, two albino genes, two pinstripe genes, etc.
Heterozygous = the two genes in a gene pair are NOT the same. Examples -- a pied mutant gene paired with a normal gene, a pastel mutant gene paired with a normal gene, a pinstripe mutant gene paired with a normal gene, a lesser platinum mutant gene paired with a mojave mutant gene, etc.

The belief that all hets look normal originated among herpers when all known mutant genes were recessive to the corresponding normal gene. Those days are long over, but many herpers have not caught up yet.

Anyone who can understand why flipping a coin twice can produce 4 possible outcomes can learn genetics.

Here are a couple of more links that may be useful.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punnett_square
http://www.redtailboas.com/f115/no-f...s-guide-53782/

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I have a degree in Microbiology. While I appreciate your intent, I don't need this lecture. :) For people just getting their feet wet, there's just no reason to get that far into the details when a bare bones explanation will do. When it comes to ball python breeding, the term Het is only typically used when referring to recessive genes. If someone then decides to dig deeper for themselves, they most certainly can do that.

And, yes, I understand completely that we've tried to fit genetics into boxes of larger categories (dominant, incomplete dominant, recessive). Then, when that didn't work 100% of the time, we noticed abnormalities in otherwise normal looking offspring that we started calling "markers" to again, fit into our nice and safe box that needs everything explained. The truth is, these categories only exist for our own desire for order and understanding. It's actually much more complex than we understand right now (and maybe ever will).

Best regards,
Eric

Is order useless? Should chaos rule? How does having a special herper genetics dialect help us communicate with the wider genetics community?

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Originally Posted by paulh

Is order useless? Should chaos rule? How does having a special herper genetics dialect help us communicate with the wider genetics community?

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I hardly feel that answering an internet forum post in the most simple terms possible is useless and chaotic. If you're referring to me specifically, then you obviously don't know me very well. ;) The OP was only curious about the context of the word "Het" in relation to the ball python community. Do you honestly believe that we should have been concerned about communicating with the "wider genetics community" in our responses? There's no need to go all "Rube Goldberg" when simply flipping a light switch will do. :)

So this thread doesn't get too far off topic, please feel free to continue this discussion via PMs if you deem necessary. Until then, I will continue to provide useless and chaotic assistance to this forum in the finest way that I know how. :D

Best regards,
Eric