Brown coat color in Icelandic cattle produced by the loci Extension and Agouti.

Inheritance of the colors black, brown, and red in Icelandic cattle was studied. The three colors are produced by two loci, Extension (E) and Agouti (A), with three alleles at the E locus: E(d) for dominant black; E+, intermediate, which allows expression of A locus alleles; and e for recessive red color. Two alleles are postulated at the A locus: A+, producing brown, and a, producing recessive black (nonagouti) when homozygous in E+/- animals. The dominant and recessive types of black are indistinguishable from each other phenotypically. The A alleles are only able to express their effect in E+/- genotypes. The E and A loci in cattle are postulated to be homologous to the E and A loci in the mouse.