Research Project
Researchers: Kylie Munyard (Managed by)
Brief description To elucidate the inheritance of white fibre in alpacas. Detailed phenotypic records, fibre and DNA samples will be collected from herds segregated for white and coloured fibres. The data will be used to develop a theory on the mode of inheritance of white fibre in alpacas. The theory will be tested by applying the principles to other herds segregated for white and colour. The final phase of the project is to characterise (at the molecular level) three of the key genes known to be important in mammalian coat colour, and to determine if these genes are also important in alpaca coat colour genetics. The research is funded by a RIRDC grant, and is in collaboration with the Australian Alpaca Association.