Inheritance of Coat Color in the Mole Vole (Ellobius talpinus Pallas)

Based on the ecological features of the mole vole, family analysis of the inheritance of coat color was performed with the use of material collected in a wild population. Analysis of coat color in parents and offspring has demonstrated that the offspring segregation into black and nonblack animals after crosses of different types agrees with the hypothesis on the monogenic inheritance of these color variations. Black mole voles are homozygous for the recessive allele (genotype aa). Homozygotes for the dominant allele (AA) are brown. Heterozygotes (Aa) may be brown or have transitional color. The mean frequency of brown coat color in heterozygotes is 0.509 and is very variable. The higher the color intensity in black elements of parent coat color, the more is the offspring coat color saturated with these elements.