Something to ponder

[paulh]

However, since we often use these terms, by default, to describe the allele's relationship to the wild-type, I don't think it's wrong to call the gene "recessive" ... It just isn't a totally complete description.

I agree that it isn't a complete description. That would require a list of all alleles in the white snake complex and the relationship of the "hidden" allele to every other allele. I've been wondering whether anyone has paired mojave with the hidden allele and what the results were.

I also agree with Randy in that it's quite odd that it doesn't seem to manifest as anything phenotypically different from wild-type even in its homozygous form. I'm not terribly familiar with dilute genes in mammals, but I'll have to do some reading on them. The "hidden" allele does seem to dilute the color of the lesser platinum; it would be very interesting if it operated on the same principal.

It may be that the "hidden" allele dilutes the color of the normal, but the change is so small that our eyes are not sensitive enough to distinguish it. A more sensitive test might be able to tell the difference.