Genetics of the fawn-hooded rat strain. The coat color dilution and platelet storage pool deficiency are pleiotropic effects of the autosomal recessive red-eyed dilution gene.

The inheritance of coat color, hooded-coat pattern, and platelet storage pool deficiency of fawn-hooded rats was studied by crossing fawn-hooded rats with rats of other strains. It was determined that the tan coat color and the platelet storage pool deficiency were pleiotropic effects of the autosomal recessive red-eyed dilution (r) gene. The hooded-coat pattern was determined to be the effect of a different autosomal recessive gene. It also was demonstrated that the tan coat color of fawn-hooded rats is a dilution and that the shade of the tan coat color expressed varied with the underlying coat color genes.