Fig. 2

Oligo(dT) lengths correspond to the merle phenotypic spectrum. Photographs and fragment analysis chromatograms are shown for dogs representing each of the four merle varieties: cryptic (a), dilute (b), standard (c), and harlequin (e), as well as one dog (d) that displays characteristics of both standard and harlequin merles. Amplicon size in base pairs is shown on the x-axis, and the y-axis measures signal intensity (RFU). The most abundant Merle amplicon peak is highlighted for each dog with corresponding oligo(dT) length written above. Genotypes are reported in the top left of the chromatogram, with M representing the Merle allele depicted in the chromatogram and m signifying the wild-type allele, confirmed through gel electrophoresis (not pictured). The cryptic and harlequin merle dogs pictured respectively possess the shortest and longest oligo(dT) lengths identified in the study