--- license: permission_granted topic_id: companion_species_health_coat_colour_english_spotting_rabbit category: companion-species-health title: "Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) — Coat colour, English spotting (hereditary; OMIA-verified species predisposition)" lang: en source: "OMIA (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals, University of Sydney) species-specific hereditary-disorder record, saved verbatim to source_file; C1 substring-verified. Pulled 2026-08-24 from local OMIA database dump." source_file: pdf-raw/species-health/rabbit_coat_colour_english_spotting_3127.txt date_parsed: 2026-08-24 tokens_estimated: 239 verification: method: substring_match claims: 5 passed: 5 date: 2026-08-24 recovered: false path: companion-species-health/companion_species_health_coat_colour_english_spotting_rabbit/01_companion_species_health_coat_colour_english_spotting_rabbit.md source_document: "OMIA — Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (University of Sydney)" citation: authority: "OMIA — Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals (University of Sydney)" title: "Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) — Coat colour, English spotting (hereditary; OMIA-verified species predisposition)" url: "https://omia.org/OMIA001597/9986/" retrieved: "2026-08-24" ref: "OMIA species-specific hereditary-disorder records (omia.org), derived from local OMIA database dump; dataset: https://doi.org/10.25910/2AMR-PV70" doc_type: "academic animal-genetics database (species-specific disorder entries)" needs_review: false
verification_derived: method: derived_from_dataset source: "OMIA database dump (omia.xml, local); fields Gene/Variant/Article/OMIM" note: "Structured fields (gene, variant rsID/protein change, PubMed/DOI references, OMIM cross-link) extracted from OMIA dump and presented with first-hand values; not verbatim prose."---
Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) — Coat colour, English spotting (hereditary; OMIA-verified species predisposition)
Source: first-hand OMIA (University of Sydney) species-specific hereditary-disorder record, saved verbatim to source_file; every claim below is a C1 byte-substring of it.
Claims
Species: Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)Disorder: Coat colour, English spottingMode of inheritance: As summarised by Fontanesi et al. (2014), who provided additional segregation data that supported single-locus inheritance, "Rabbits homozygous for the recessive non-mutated allele (en/en) are self-colored (not spotted). Heterozygous En/en rabbits are normally spotted and possess far larger patches of colored fur compared to the homozygous En/En animals that have a reduced spotted pattern".Summary: Also known as Dominant White Spotting. For a through summary of early literature, see Robinson (1958, p. 263-265).Clin feat: As summarised by Fontanesi et al. (2014) "En/En rabbits are subvital compared to vital heterozygous En/en rabbits because dominant homozygous animals are affected by an underlying megacolon" (Robinson, 1958; Bodeker et al., 1995; Wieberneit and Wegner, 1995)
Associated gene(s)
Derived from OMIA database dump (omia.xml, local); structured field, not verbatim prose. First-hand values below are verbatim substrings of the topic's pdf-raw/omia/<phene_id>.txt source file.
- OMIA entry symbol: En (no structured Phene_Gene link)
- OMIA molecular-genetics note: Because this coat-colour locus is associated with megacolon (see Clinical features), Fontanesi et al. (2010) investigated EDNRB as a comparative functional candidate gene, because mutations in this gene give rise to megacolon in horse (OMIA 000629-9796) and human (OMIM 600155). However, they were able to rule out EDNRB as the causative gene for this trait in rabbits.
Evidence (references)
Derived from OMIA database dump (omia.xml, local); structured field, not verbatim prose. First-hand values below are verbatim substrings of the topic's pdf-raw/omia/<phene_id>.txt source file.
- 1992. [The problem of breeding for spots in rabbits. 2. Further results on the variation of characteristics in fattening and breeding animals]. Dtsch Tierarztl Wochenschr — PubMed:PMID1576947 — OMIA Phene_Article / Article
- 1993. [The problems of breeding spotted rabbits. 3. Variability of the pigmentation grade, ganglionic intestinal wall supply, relationship to pathogenesis--animal breeding and animal welfare aspects]. Dtsch Tierarztl Wochenschr — PubMed:PMID8339710 — OMIA Phene_Article / Article
- 1994. [The problems of spotted breeds of rabbits. 4. Morpho- and histometric findings in the CNS and thyroid glands and the hormone content in blood at slaughter of hybrid rabbits, and estimation of the heterosis effect]. Dtsch Tierarztl Wochenschr — PubMed:PMID7895623 — OMIA Phene_Article / Article
- 1995. Pathophysiological and functional aspects of the megacolon-syndrome of homozygous spotted rabbits. Zentralbl Veterinarmed A — PubMed:PMID8822192 | DOI:10.1111/j.1439-0442.1995.tb00410.x — OMIA Phene_Article / Article
- 1954. White spotting in mice and rabbits. Genetica — PubMed:PMID14366219 — OMIA Phene_Article / Article
- 2010. Endothelin receptor B (EDNRB) is not the causative gene of the English spotting locus in the domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Anim Genet — PubMed:PMID20497153 | DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2052.2010.02084.x — OMIA Phene_Article / Article
- 1924. Linkage of Dutch, English, and Angora in Rabbits. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A — PubMed:PMID16576789 | DOI:10.1073/pnas.10.3.107 — OMIA Phene_Article / Article
- 1958. Genetic studies of the rabbit. Bibliographia Genetica — OMIA Phene_Article / Article
- 2014. The KIT gene is associated with the english spotting coat color locus and congenital megacolon in Checkered Giant rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). PLoS One — PubMed:PMID24736498 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0093750 — OMIA Phene_Article / Article
- 1995. Albino rabbits can suffer from Megacolon-Syndrome when they are homozygous for the “English-spot” gene (En En). World Rabbit Science — OMIA Phene_Article / Article
- 1991. [The problems of spotted breeds of rabbits. 1. Fattening and body condition at slaughter, organ parameters]. Dtsch Tierarztl Wochenschr — PubMed:PMID1954863 — OMIA Phene_Article / Article
- 2021. Rabbits - their domestication and molecular genetics of hair coat development and quality. Anim Genet — PubMed:PMID33216407 | DOI:10.1111/age.13024 — OMIA Phene_Article / Article
- (2 additional references in OMIA)