Genetics of coat color and fiber production traits in llamas and alpacas

Abstract

IMPLICATIONS:• The genetic mechanisms that regulate economically important fiber traits in South American camelids are not yet fully understood, resulting in low productivity.• In recent years, mutations responsible for some monogenic or oligogenic traits have been identified, enabling molecular testing to assist breeding decisions.• The recently developed 76K SNPs array for the alpaca, will facilitate the identification of genes affecting more complex traits through genome wide association studies.