Genetically speaking, color determination in the Harlequin is really quite simple--much more simple than determining how markings will turn out in any particular mating, or trying to eliminate the white spotting gene from a Harlequin herd. Three genes, combined in various ways, are responsible for the eight different Harlequin varieties recognized by the American Rabbit Breeders Association.

       Each of these three genes has two different alleles. Alleles are the various forms of the same gene. The genes and alleles, which play a role in the color of the Harlequin, are:

The "C" gene is responsible for the white of the Magpie.

Its alleles: "C" is dominant and causes no change.

"ch" is recessive and can change orange to white.

The "D" gene, which stands for dilute, is present in blue and lilacs.

Its alleles: "D" is dominant and causes no change.

"d" is recessive and dilutes black to blue or chocolate.

The "B" gene is present in chocolates and lilacs.

Its alleles: "B" is dominant and causes no change

"b" is recessive and changed black to chocolate or blue to lilac.

      Every domestic rabbit had two alleles for each of these three genes. In fact each rabbit has hundreds of pairs of genes, but most of them determine traits of the animal other than color.

     Genetically speaking, the basic Harlequin color is Black Japanese; all other varieties are derived from changing the color of the Black Japanese in one or more ways. Color wise, the "pure" form of Black Japanese would possess the genetic code "CCDDBB." Such a rabbit would have the dominant, homozygous combination for each of the three color traits. Mated to another Black Japanese with the same genetic makeup, all kits would be Black Japanese.

      However, many Black Japanese are not genetically pure (homozygous); many possess one or more of the recessive alleles—though not two of the same recessive allele—so their offspring may be any one of the seven colors, depending on the genetic makeup of both the sire and dam.

The possible genetic combinations for the three color genes, which determine Harlequin color, are as follows:

     As you can see from the above list, there’s no way to know from just looking at a Harlequin what type of genotype (that’s what is listed above) the animal has-unless the Harlequin is a Lilac Magpie. Since offspring get one allele for each gene from each parent, kits may turn out quite a different color from their parents. In the list above, for instance, two Black Japanese of the first listed genotype, CCDDBB, would always have Black Japanese kits. But if two Black Japanese of the second genotype, CchDDBB, were mated, one out of every four kits (on average) would be a chchDDBB—a Black Magpie.

     Each of the three traits is inherited independtly, and there is no definitive way to determine which of the possible genotypes a Harlequin possesses just by looking. Test mating can help, if you’re just burning to know, For instance, breed Japanese to a Magpie. If all the kits are Japanese, Its likely the Japanese is "CC." But if half (or even just one of the kits are Magpies, he Japanese must be "Cch." Or breed a Black to a Blue. If all the offsprings are black, the black parent is "DD" But if one or more of kits are blue, there’s no doubt the black parent is "Dd" (it’s already known that the blue parent has to be "dd" or it would not be blue in the first place.

     Finding Kits of various colors in the next box can be either exciting or a big disappointment, depending upon one’s breeding goals. But if color matters, a little knowledge about what "causes" different colors is a definite advantage.