by Jen Snell
New Zealand Plume Genetics
To
create a New
Zealand Plume from scratch,
you have to balance a specific set of dominant genes with "modifying"
genes that control exactly the placement of rosettes. The NZ Plume is a
unique 50-year-old Kiwi heritage pedigree breed officially created in 1976 by
crossing Abyssinian and English
Peruvian that
had been brought into Wellington from England.
The
Rosette Gene (R):
You need this dominant gene to get rosettes.
The
Modifiers (mm):
This is the "secret sauce.":
Too many rosettes (creates a full Abyssinian) or no rosettes (smooth coat).:
This specific heterozygous combination of modifying genes is what
creates the Plume.
It results in exactly two rump rosettes that push the long hair
upward into that signature "rooster tail" while keeping
the rest of the coat relatively short.
The New Zealand Plume genetics is interesting. The dominant gene R gives rosettes in the coat, while rr cavies are smooth coated.
The effect of R is enhanced by the modifying genes mm, so that RRmm cavies are fully rosetted, Rrmm cavies may lack some rosettes. Where the genotype is RrMM or RRMM the cavy nearly always has the hair on its toes growing backwards up the foot or in small whirls.
The rest of the coat is usually smooth, though occasionally there is a ridge down the back and one or two rudimentary rosettes on each side of the spine (the basis for Bonnet).
R-Mm cavies nearly always have two rosettes and a marked ridge between them and is the basis for New Zealand Plume genetics.
The Original Steps
to "Create" a New Zealand Plume Line
The
Initial Cross:
You would ideally cross an Abyssinian (for
the ridge and rosettes) with a long-haired Peruvian (for
the length).
Isolate
the Modifiers:
You are looking for offspring that have fewer rosettes
than an Abyssinian but more than
a smooth coat. You specifically want two rosettes positioned on the
rump.
Selective
Refinement:
You must then "lock in" the traits through generations of
selective breeding to ensure the
ridge is solid and straight from the shoulders to the rump and the
'Rooster Tail' rises vertically (avoiding a fan
tail that spreads horizontally). The
plume is long enough to form a spectacular high-arched Rooster Tail.
Cross-breeding
Every "pure-bred" animal today started as a cross. To create a new breed, breeders select two existing breeds with desirable traits (like the Abyssinian’s rosettes and the Peruvian’s length). This initial cross creates genetic diversity which often makes the offspring hardier than their highly inbred parents—a phenomenon called hybrid vigour.
The transition from a "cross" to a "breed" happens through selective "linebreeding."
Breeders take the best offspring from the cross and breed them back to each other or to a parent.
They only keep the babies that consistently show the new "type" (e.g., the ridge with two rump rosettes.
Over several generations, the genetics "lock in." Eventually, when you mate two New Zealand Plumes, you get 100% New Zealand Plume. At this point, it is no longer a cross; it is a true breeding line.
Show Standards
The New Zealand Plume achieved standards with the New Zealand Cavy Club in 1976, the first cavy club in the country. Later on, the New Zealand Cavy Judges Association was formed. This official document defines exactly what the breed should look like. This prevents the breed from drifting back into a random mix and ensures breeders are working towards the same goals.
Club Team Notes:
Take a moment and think about the 50-year-old history of this breed. 50 years is a long time. All the breeders and exhibitors who have helped this breed, all the years they have been exhibited in cavy shows. How it helped start the New Zealand Cavy Fancy, along with the NZ Peruvian. Let's protect our New Zealand breeds and ensure equality and fairness with imported breeds at cavy clubs in our own country.
