Homozygous Lethal Gene?

[Edgar_Furrybutt]

I have a Campbell's dwarf who I assumed was a black eyed white, until I saw something that said she's actually probably what's known as a dilute platinum. It says it's a dominant, homozygous lethal gene. Does that mean she's going to die between 6-12 months old, or just that if she were bred, her babies would be eyeless whites and die or what? I hope she's going to be ok

[kyrilliondaemon]

Dominant means it'll be shown when the ham only has one copy
Homozygous lethal means two copies and the creature with it dies absurdly young. Often before birth.

Your ham will be heterozygous or you'd know about it because she'd have health issues. Don't breed her to a ham of the same colour (or preferably at all) and you'll be fine.

[Edgar_Furrybutt]

Heterozygous means two copies of the Homozygous lethal (one from each parent)? I can't wait until I study genetics at school so this won't seem so foreign to me.

Hypothetically (and it truly is hypothetical) what would happen if I bred her to a solid hamster? A mottled hamster with red eyes? An argente? A normal? If I had to guess, I'm guessing the only one that I listed that would be a problem would be the mottled? And the resulting litters of either pairing would have white ticking throughout since it's dominant?

I never knew hamsters were so complex. I mean, I should've known... Anything with a gene pool is complex. It's facinating.

Is Lorenzo considered platinum or mottled?
http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/...orenzo/063.jpg

[kyrilliondaemon]

No. Heterozygous means different. Like heterosexual couples are two people with different sexes, heterozygous for a gene means only one copy and the other gene is different.

Homozygous means two copies of the same gene, so homozygous lethal means two copies is lethal.

I'm afraid I can't answer the hypothetical question though. It depends on the recessive genes she carries and exactly what she's bred with.

Not too sure on colouring but I thought that one was mottled.

[Edgar_Furrybutt]

I was thinking he was mottled too. His belly is gray with a white bib.