Long Hair

Quick Summary

Long-haired donkeys produce thick, shaggy coats. Two allele variants inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion have been identified as causing this phenotype.
Long-haired donkey

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Phenotype: Long-haired donkeys produce thick, shaggy coats.

Mode of Inheritance: Autosomal recessive

Alleles: N = Normal/Short Hair, LH1 = Long Hair (mutation 1), LH2 = Long Hair (mutation 2)

Breeds appropriate for testing: Poitou, mules with a Poitou parent

Explanation of Results:

  • Donkeys with N/N genotype will have short hair and cannot transmit either of these long hair variants to their offspring.
  • Donkeys with N/LH1 or N/LH2 genotypes will have short hair, but are carriers of a long hair variant. They will transmit their long hair variant to 50% of their offspring. Matings between two carriers result in a 25% chance of producing a foal with long hair.
  • Donkeys with LH1/LH1, LH2/LH2, or LH1/LH2 genotypes will have long hair and will transmit one of their long hair variants to all of their offspring.

Turnaround Time
At least 15 business days; may be delayed beyond 15 business days if sample requires additional testing, or a new sample is requested.
Price

$55 one test per animal
$65 two tests per animal
$70 three tests per animal

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Additional Details

Long-haired donkey in pastureLong hair in the Poitou breed results from two independent loss-of-function mutations in the fibroblast growth factor 5 (FGF5) gene. Both mutations are inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion. Thus, long-haired donkeys have two affected alleles. Short-haired individuals are present in the population, and this genetic test screens for the presence or absence of the long hair mutations.

Testing for the donkey long hair mutations is recommended for Poitou donkeys and mules with a Poitou parent. Breeders can benefit from this test to identify carriers of long hair mutations and the potential of mating pairs to produce long-haired offspring.

Type of Sample
20-30 Hairs With Roots

Species

Donkey

Breed

Mule Poitou
Type of Test
Coat Color and/or Type
Results Reported As
Result Long Hair
N/N No copies of either Long hair allele. Animal has short hair.
N/LH1 Carrier. One copy of Long hair 1 allele. Animal has short hair.
N/LH2 Carrier. One copy of Long hair 2 allele. Animal has short hair.
LH1/LH1 Two copies of long hair 1 allele. Animal has long hair.
LH2/LH2 Two copies of long hair 2 allele. Animal has long hair.
LH1/LH2 One copy of each long hair allele. Animal has long hair.
References

Legrand, R., Tiret, L., & Abitbol, M. (2014). Two recessive mutations in FGF5 are associated with the long-hair phenotype in donkeys. Genetics Selections Evolution, 46:65. doi: 10.1186/s12711-014-0065-5

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