Íslenskar landbúnaðarrannsóknir - 01.03.1970, Page 26

24 ÍSLENZKAR LANDBÚNAÐARRANNSÓKNIR
TABLE 3
Progeny of ram No. 01079, wh.ite son of ram No. 01073 (Table 2) and a zuhite
ewe, No. 01093, used brown mouflon, used in 1960j61
Colours of progeny2
Colour and genotype1 of ewes 01 04 08 11 12 14 15 Total
White (AiA2-B2) 1 1
White (A1.A5 ) 2 1 3
Grey (A2Ar,Br-) 2 4 6
Grey (A2A5B1B2) 1 2 3
Greybrown (AoAr.BoBo) 2 1 1 1 5
Black badgerface (A3A5B1-) 1 1 1 3
Black mouflon (A4A5B1-) 2 2
Black (A5A5B1—) 2 2 1 5
Black (A5A5B1B2) 1 1
Brown (A5A5B2B2) 9 2 2 13
20 9 6 4 1 1 1 42
1) See p. 26 for explanation of gene symbols.
2) Code numbers for main colour see p. 10.
enquiries about the progeny of particular
rams indicated that when a white ram
gave nonwhite offspring showing one of
the three patterns above, in matings with
black or brown ewes, this pattern would
be predominant among all his future non-
white progeny. It was also found that on
certain farms one of the above patterns
was predominant among the nonwhite
sheep in the flock for a long period of
time, sometimes 10—12 years, while the
other patterns were absent or very rare.
M'hese findings suggested that the pattern
genes might be allelic to white.
3. White and mouflon
In order to test this possibility it was
decided to keep for breeding a white ram
lamb bred from ram No. Of073 and a
white ewe, No. 01093, which had earlier
given two brown lambs. This ram lamb,
born in 1959, obtained flock book number
01079. His co-twin was a black badgerface
lamb.
It was certain that ram No. 01079 was
heterozygous for the gene for white, and
as his dam had now altogether produced
3 nonwhite lambs without the mouflon
pattern and 2 of these without the badger-
face pattern, it was regarded as probable
that she clid not carry genes for either of
the patterns found in ram No. 01073. Ram
No. 01079 was therefore probably also
heterozygous for either the gene for the
badgerface or the gene for mouflon pattern.
Ram No. 01079 was used for two sea-
sons, 1959/60 and 1960/61, ancl on two
farms, in the first year at the Experiment-
al Farm and the second year at farrn No.
05. He was brecl to ewes with a wide
variety of colours, as shown in table 3.