Agouti Coat Color (ASIP-related) – Rabbit

The A gene, also known as the ASIP (Agouti Signaling Protein) gene, plays a key role in determining coat color patterns. This gene follows a dominance hierarchy, where the A allele is dominant and the a allele is recessive.

Three main alleles are described:

• A (agouti) – the wild-type allele, responsible for the classic agouti pattern. This results in a multicolored coat, where individual hairs display alternating bands of dark and light pigment. Typically, the belly is lighter, often cream-colored.
• at (tan) – produces a dark coat with lighter markings (red to yellow) on areas such as the belly and nose. In this pattern, hairs are uniformly colored without banding.
• a (self) – the most recessive allele, resulting in a solid coat color. The final appearance depends on other coat color genes, but individual hairs remain uniformly colored without banding.