Do specific colours/genes make any difference in behaviour?

[Catastrophic]

I was wondering if specific genes made gerbils particularly prone to certain behaviours or health issues, or is it just specific lines with parents who example, had both been prone to cancer or something and then passed on the proneness to cancer to their pups, who then passed that onto their pups.

[Markpd]

Don't know myself, I have occasionally read that supposedly black gerbils are more likely to be hostile to other gerbils, but I've no idea if that's really true.
Would be interested to hear thoughts on that as well as your own questions.

[conniew]

All I can say is I have a black gerbil and so far she is not hostile at all to her sister. She tends to be the more friendly and curious about what people around the cage are doing. She is out in the topper more than her sister.
Don't know if that has anything to do with her color or her genes.

[TJ's Rodent Ranch]

I also have had, and do have many black gerbils, and other than one (who's father and siblings were all bad with other gerbils, so I think that was just a personality issue in the genetics) I have never noticed that to be true. In fact, one of my gerbils who is always sweetest with others is black. I've seen that my Burmese gerbils tend to be sweeter, but many of my gerbils descend from the original bloodlines of a few that I once had, so I couldn't help with this in my own experiences.

[Catastrophic]

I know several people who have black gerbils, and they have all been the more inquisitive ones, but I think this is just a coincidence. I haven’t noticed that they’re any more aggressive though, they’re all very friendly , however (and I think this is also a coincidence) both of the black pied ones have been prone to seizures.

[TJ's Rodent Ranch]

There might be something to that, Catastrophic, I have noticed that all my black gerbils tend to be far more inquisitive than others (even the ones I've bought elsewhere) so maybe that's something to look into.
Were the Black Pied gerbils related that you know? If so, that could definitely be a causal factor. However, I wouldn't be surprised if there were certain colors that were prone to seizures, since coat patterns/coloring, and even coat length can have a lot to do with health genetically in many animals. For example, in dogs, a white Doberman or white German shepherd comes with a host of genetic problems that can result in serious illnesses and sometimes death. It's definitely a thought, but I'm not sure if it could be connected to Black Pied gerbils, or if it's already been proven otherwise. I'm no scientist so I couldn't say much beyond what I've already said regarding that, but it might be worth reading about...

[betty]

Just to add to black gerbil nonsense - I have never found it to be true - and as it is one of THE most common gerbil colours (and the base color to ALL THE SELFS) - it can't possibly be true otherwise no gerbils would be living in pairs or breeding with black-colored gerbils? I can only assume it was a new thing when the black/self gene first came out and this became just simply 'a talking point'. Sadly, it is still lingering around.

As for other color genes - they can absolutely have health conditions connected to them - as the gene for the color almost never works alone. People can easily assume that one gene has switched on or off to change the hairs only. This is almost never the case.

The pied gene is a prime example - the action of 'losing color' stems right back to the embryology - right from the malfunction of the neural crest formation system (this is why whiter mammals can have a whole host of visible (and more importantly invisible) health concerns - including but not limited to sight issues, hearing issues, sterility and neurological conditions). The gene responsible for loss of pigment in the hairs is also the exact same switch for rods and cones in the eyes; the same hair shaft formation for the sensitive 'hearing' hairs in the ears; the genes that structure together the reproductive system - and much more.

I was reading a thread online only yesterday saying that certain genes (in this example it was using those that are believed to be involved in some forms of ADHD in humans as a comparison) could be being bred into animals through simple color or behaviour line breeding. Just because an animal (read human) eats and drinks everyday - it doesn't mean that it is 'happy' all the time. Genes like these can affect the hormone pathways and cause changes in the thought process, including the way others or self are perceived - and was can't always pick these up in animals (other than extremes - like 'that female is very grumpy' - 'that male doesn't like other males' - that pup is much more jumpy /quiet/thinner than the others').

Lines of gerbils are always bred to focus on specific gene actions and disease - to help undersatnd human models and health better - like specialised gerbil lines are used for siezure research; degus were bred specifically for diabetes research; pure lines isolated for skin conditions in mice and obesity (the yellow gene "The yellow mouse obesity syndrome is due to dominant mutations at the Agouti locus, which is characterized by obesity, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, hyperleptinemia, increased linear growth, and yellow coat color.) (amongst many more specilist animals and conditions). I am sure tumor growing studies are in most groups - and of course every so often animals from labs make it into the pet gene pools.

Color genetics is so much more than our simple aaddee system.