Inheritance of red body coloration in Taiwanese tilapias and in Oreochromis mossambicus

Abstract

The inheritance of red body coloration has been investigated in different tilapia species. This coloration has become fashionable in recent years due to the increased price of red tilapias. Different genetic mechanisms were discovered in different species and even among different genetic groups of the same species. In Taiwanese tilapias, apparently descended from hybrids between Oreochromis mossambicus and O. niloticus, red body coloration appears to result from heterozygosity between two partially dominant alleles at one locus. The non-wild-type homozygote “white” is subvital and difficult to distinguish from red individuals. Red × red spawns are not true breeding in this group of tilapias. All-red progenies have been produced by crossing wild-type colored to “white” individuals. Red body coloration in O. mossambicus was found to be a simple Mendelian recessive.