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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. The Suri trait is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner.

Breeds

Alpaca

Test number 8984
Sample material 0.5 ml EDTA blood, 2x cheek swab, 1x special swab (eNAT)
Test duration 7-14 working days
Gene TRPV3
Variant G-T
Literature OMIA:002841-30538

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.

The Suri phenotype is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner.