Suri (alpaca)
Suri (alpaca)
General description
There are two coat structure varieties of alpaca: Huacaya with dense, crimped wool and Suri with smooth, shiny fibers. The Suri type is associated with lower cold tolerance and possibly reduced fitness. As the inheritance of the Suri type is autosomal dominant and purebred animals are probably not viable, mating two Suri alpacas should be avoided.
Breeds
Alpaca
Order details
| Test number | 8984 |
| Sample material | 0.5 ml EDTA blood, 2x cheek swab, 1x special swab (eNAT) |
| Test duration | 7-14 working days |
Test specifications
| Gene | TRPV3 |
| Variant | G-T |
| Literature | OMIA:002841-30538 |
Detailed description
There are two varieties of alpaca with different coat structures: Huacaya and Suri.
The more common Huacaya wool is compact, soft and heavily crimped. Suri wool, on the other hand, is characterized by smooth and shiny fibres with very little crimp. The Suri phenotype has been associated with both reduced cold tolerance and potentially reduced fitness.
Inheritance of the Suri phenotype is autosomal dominant, whereby the variant is most likely embryonically non-viable (lethal) if it is homozygous. Mating two Suri alpacas should therefore be avoided as a matter of urgency.
