Basic Genetics

"Genetics" refers to the information controlling all biological processes that are
carried within the cells of all living organisms. These instructions are responsible for
maintaining the continuity of a species and for many of the differences between
individuals within a species.

To make cell division and reproduction more manageable, " genes" are physically
connected to other genes to form chromosomes. Dobermans receive two sets of
chromosomes, one from the mother and one from the father. In canines,
"somatic" cells, responsible for composing the body, the DNA is packaged into 78
"chromosomes". Thirty-nine of the chromosomes contain DNA that are passed on
through the male's " germ cell" (the sperm) and the other 39 contain DNA inherited
from the female's germ cell (the egg). So each chromosome has a partner-
chromosome inherited from one or the other parent. Therefore, the 78 chromosomes
form 39 pairs. So that the number of sets does not keep increasing from one
generation to the next, sperm and eggs get only one set each. However, the
mechanisms that assure this are not able to tell which chromosomes came from the
mother and which from the father. Therefore, the set that is passed on in a particular
egg or sperm is a mixed set. The number of possibilities depends on the number of
chromosomes. Since dogs have 39 chromosomes in a set, the number of possible
combinations is well over one billion! Therefore, the possibility of getting two litter-
mates that have exactly the same combination of chromosomes is extremely remote

Some traits, such as color, are influenced very little by the environment. The gene is
responsible for traits such as color and is often referred to as a basic unit of
inheritance. A gene carries information for a single step in a biological process. Most
biological processes, however, are made up of several steps. Thus, one should not get
the idea that any particular trait is determined by any single gene. The general rule is
that many genes control a single trait. With color, for example, there are genes for
making the different colored pigments and others which control the distribution of the
pigments first within the individual hairs and secondly over the entire body.

Germ cells differ from somatic cells in that they were divided through a process
known as "meiosis." As a result of meiosis, each germ cell receives one of the partner-
chromosomes so that it has one chromosome of each type. Meiosis provides the
means by which offspring may inherit genetic information from each parent, while
maintaining the same number of chromosomes in its somatic cells as found in the
somatic cells of each parent and in other individuals within its species.
When germ cells "fuse" during fertilization they produce a single somatic cell from
which the offspring will develop. Somatic cells then divide to produce more cells by
the process of "mitosis." Before a somatic cell divides during mitosis each
chromosome will be duplicated. That way a canine cell just prior to dividing will have
156 chromosomes comprising 78 chromosome pairs. After the somatic cell divides,
each new cell contains the same amount of genetic information as the original cell.
Mitosis provides the means for a single fertilized cell to develop into a whole
organism, while maintaining the same chromosome number and amount of genetic
information in each cell throughout the body.

The "DNA encoding" that specifies which proteins are responsible for producing
individual genetic traits are called "chromosome genes." Each gene which encodes a
specific protein is located at a particular site on the chromosome called a gene
"locus." The location of the gene locus for a trait on one chromosome will match the
location of the gene locus for that same trait on its partner-chromosome. Although the
location of a gene locus is identical for each partner-chromosome, the "nucleotide
sequence" of the gene may be different on each of the two paired-chromosomes.
When this occurs and the nucleotide sequence of the DNA to encode a specific protein
is altered, a condition referred to as a "mutation", the resulting protein may
physically and functionally differ from the normal protein. For this reason, because
more than one nucleotide sequence of a gene may be present at a gene locus on
partner-chromosomes, alternate sequences controlling one particular trait are referred
to as "alleles." A gene is named for the first mutant allele discovered.

Most genes carry out their functions correctly, but some are altered by exposure to
radiation, certain chemicals, or even by accident when a cell divides. In genetics each
version is called an allele. Some genes may have several different alleles in a
population, but an individual can carry only two, one from the sperm and one from the
egg. If the offspring inherit the same allele at a particular gene locus from each
parent, the offspring is considered "homozygous" for the particular trait governed by
that gene locus. If the offspring inherit one allele from one parent but a different allele
from the other parent, the offspring is considered "heterozygous" for the particular
trait.

When offspring are heterozygous at a particular gene locus, the characteristic of only
one of the alleles will often be the trait considered "dominant" over the other allele
which is considered "recessive." Though many individuals are familiar with the terms
dominant and recessive most of these individuals are unaware of the underlying
mechanisms that make some alleles dominant and others recessive. One must go back
to the DNA sequence of the gene to understand these mechanisms, . DNA of each
gene locus is responsible for producing a single protein. DNA is composed of
molecules called nucleotides. When nucleotides are arranged in specific order they
encode for amino acids, which are molecules that make up proteins. The sequence of
amino acids determine protein structure and function. The correct sequence of DNA
all the way through to the sequence of amino acids must be conserved to retain normal
cellular function. The amino acid sequence may be altered when resulting mutations
occur in the DNA nucleotide sequence. As a result, the protein for that gene locus will
either be missing or different from the normal protein. In the latter instance, the
alternate protein may function adequately but produce some physiological changes not
seen in the presence of the normal protein. Therefore, different alleles occur as a result
of mutations in the DNA for a particular gene locus.

In some cases, recessive alleles are those that produce no protein. In other cases, or in
cases where there are more than two possible alleles for a gene locus, there is usually
a rank order of dominance. In such an instance, those alleles that produce proteins
with the greater capacity to function will be more dominant to alleles that produce
weakly-functional or non-functional proteins.

Doberman Colors

Combining the four allowed Doberman "phenotype" colors with the 9 possible
"genotypes" will result in 81 possible combinations. A serious Doberman breeder
must understand the probability of the puppy phenotype. For this a color chart has
been devised and which includes each of the four colors and their varied genotype
expressions. Below is a small incomplete example listing 9 of the assigned numbers
included in the color chart: This demonstrates some of dominant and recessive alleles,
respectively, in Doberman coat color genetics where:
B is the "black" factor, dominant over red.
b is the "red" factor, recessive to black.
D is the dominant "non-dilution" factor.
d is the recessive "dilution" factor.

Black phenotypes
#1. BBDD
#2. BBDd
#3. BbDD
#4. BbDd
Blue phenotype
#5. BBdd
#6. Bbdd
Red phenotype
#7. bbDD
#8. bbDd
Fawn phenotype
#9. bbdd

#1 BBDD will produce only black.

#2 BBDd will produce only black and blue puppies unless

bred to a #1 BBDD black,
#3 BbDD black or
#7 bbDD red.

#3 BbDD will produce red and blacks except when

bred to a #1 BBDD black,
#2 BBDd black or
#5 BBdd (blue) in which case only blacks will be produced.

#4 BbDd can produce all four colors when

bred to another #4,
#8 bbDd (red),
#9 bbdd (fawn) or
#6 Bbdd (blue).