Red Genes - RC, RF, Zepp, Cherry, Strawberry and more

Hi all,

Hoping to drum up some interest in this forum again so here I go starting a thread.

Always been fascinated with the red modifying genes and line breedings. Recently chatted with Don of SMR about the cherry gene. I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing what he wrote:

“It is one of the incompletely dominant red-modifying genes, but how, what degree of red and how it manifests is why I'm calling it a new mutated gene. In the mid 1990s I bought a pair of sub-adult Blizzards from a friend. For years I sold the babies, but ppl complained they were more pink than the expected white of most Blizzards. It was well over a decade later--after the female died in brumation--that I bred an Amel to the male Blizzard. The red on the babies was amazing. I mention when this began because no red-modifying mutated genes had ever been identified/discovered in the hobby in the mid-1990s. This does not mean Cherry Amels are an utterly unique gene, but it's the way it manifests and how deeply the red that sets this one apart from current Red-modifying mutants. They're red-orange for many months after hatching--not unlike most red-modifying mutants--but Cherry Amels get redder FASTER, and by 1.5 years of age, the reds are deeper than any other red-modified Amel compound mutants I've ever seen. I stop short of declaring it to be a new gene, but certainly the relatively few customers of mine can't praise the gene enough. Here's a pic of a Super (homozygote--possessing both of the paired Cherry gene copies) next to a Key corn for color reference.”

Anyone here have more info on red modifying genes? I have also wondered if the old school bloodreds were diffused + a red modifier?

Lastly, I’m very interested to know more about Joe Pierce’s magma and Ruby stuff.

martin-bernstein said:

Hi all,

Hoping to drum up some interest in this forum again so here I go starting a thread.

Always been fascinated with the red modifying genes and line breedings. Recently chatted with Don of SMR about the cherry gene. I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing what he wrote:

Anyone here have more info on red modifying genes? I have also wondered if the old school bloodreds were diffused + a red modifier?

Lastly, I’m very interested to know more about Joe Pierce’s magma and Ruby stuff.

Click to expand...

The RedCoat Magma and Ruby lines originate from the male you bought from me, a RedCoat Okeetee het Lava. You should read my recent thread in this genetics section called. Corn Snake Genetic Revelations. It explains my opinion, on the complete Bloodred Genetic make up. Old School Bloodreds, were much like todays Bloodreds, except they had the Yellow Jacket gene in the mix, which made them Burnt Orange. All of my Bloodred Lines, are free of the Yellow Jacket gene. If you wan't red coloration in your Corns, you need to bred out the Yellow Jacket gene, which came from Yellow Rats bred into our Corns.

There is a thread on this forum somewhere that I read, describing the Cherry Gene, before Don S's info, but I agree with him, except I think it is just recessive. It varies so much do to many factors, like which line of Corn they came from. I can argue, or it is my opinion, that Sunglow Amels are infact Yellow Jacket, Border-less, Cherry Amels. Yellow Rat/Corn Hybrids, like ALL hobby Corns are these days. Each and everyone of them, except the Wild Lines.

As far as I know, ALL of the Red Modifying Genes you mentioned are just simple recessive, and I agree with Don S, they are in many lines of our Hobby Corns, from years past, we have just started to SEE, other Corn Snake genes, in our Hobby Corns recently.