Nature et fréquence de la robe sauvage chez les mammifères domestiques

It is usually assumed that the wild coloration pattern has become rare in most domestic mammalian species. In fact, if we take into account a large variation in its phenotypical expressivity, which is especially commented and illustrated here in Cattle and Dog, it appears that it remains frequent, with, however, differences between species. The fact that this variation can be observed for Cattle and Horse on the Paleolithic wall-paintings of Lascaux supports also this view. The true discussion on this subject is a genetic one : is the variation explained by an accumulation of mutants at A locus (in that case, the wild gene could effectively have become rare) or by polygenic effects or interactions with the wild gene? It is difficult to answer this question.