I'm curious if you bred your two Plats that you got out of your mosaic to test and see if they were TRUE plats or if they were plat mosaics (which really have nothing to do with the plat gene as far as I remember but I could be wrong).
Dealing with a mosaic it tricky in my opinion because they can produce gliders that look very similar to other colors (WT, Plat, Leu) which may confuse people into thinking they are carrying genes that they are not. (again, to my understanding)
I'm not saying this is the case but have the babies been bred to prove it out? I'm assuming if you breed a plat to a gray with no plat or leu in its lineage you will get gray, 100% plat hets.
To test and see if the babies are really plats or if they are plat mosaics, breed the babies to a standard gray with no recessives. If they produce similar offspring, or produce mosaics, the babies would be plat mosaics and not plats.
I think I got that right! *shrug*
Those that have what are called "True Platinum Mosaics" (TPM) are actually Platinum gliders and also Mosaic gliders. If you paired a TPM with a standard grey, not het for plat or leu, you will only get classic grey and mosaic joeys. They would also be considered 100% PH.
If you pair it with a leu, plat, or het for either, and had a plat offspring, all you would prove is that it does in fact have the gene. You can't really prove that a TPM is truly platinum other than looking at it when its a young joey just OOP.
Very difficult for me to explain. Those that have them can maybe explain it better than I can.
BTW, not sure if you were referring to me, but I don't have TPMs. Also, I don't refer to mosaics as being platinum mosaic if they don't have the potential of being a TPM, I call them Silver Mosaics. But that's another topic all together.
So Shelly, you believe that Leu and Plat are not carried on the same locus? That they are passed on independently? If that is the case, there would have to be a gene controlling there interacting as standard 100% plat het and 100% leu hets typically would be a Plat 100% leu het...right? Seems to me that plats can vary from really light to darker so is it possible the few "standards" that are het for both actually are a dark plat?
I'm not good at specific genetics as I'm by far not a genetics expert. I don't know how to answer your question, but I'll do my best. But no, I don't think the 100% PH, 100% LH is a dark plat at all. A dark plat will exhibit the characteristics of being a platinum, just a bit darker. The hets can be very grey leaving no question that they are not platinum.
Along that line of thinking, if they can both be passed on to the same joey, couldn't a Platinum 100% leu het go on to produce plats even when paired with a grey(not het for anything)?
No, a Plat, 100% LH glider can't produce color on its own accord. The mate would also have to contribute either a plat or leu gene to produce color.
Edited to add:
If they are inherited separately and on different loci(but can & often do interact), isn't it more accurate to think of the genetic inheritance of a Platinum 100% leu het(that has one plat gene and one leu gene) as a 100% plat het and a 100% leu het? Therefore the offspring actually has a 50% chance of inheriting each but may not inherit either one?
No, I wouldn't consider a Plat 100% LH as a 100% PH, 100% LH. If the fur color is platinum, then it's a platinum glider, not a plat het.
I'm not sure they are on the same locus/allele or not. They definitely work together in some fashion. Yes, there are different shades of the platinum gliders, I'm not sure what causes that.
From what I have experienced, a joey can inherit both genes and pass both genes on to the offspring. What I don't know is if the leu offspring does carry the plat gene as well.
Also, my pairing has done what no others have to my knowledge. I have a plat and a leu that have had leu babies, plat babies, and standard grey babies.
As far as the percentage the offspring would be considered, I go from what they are on paper, so to speak. If the joey comes from a color parent, it's considered a 100% het. Many breeders have agreed with this logic, others don't. Since we don't know for sure, I go with what we have done for years in sugar gliders. (I also fully explain these things to those that buy my joeys so they aren't "misrepresented".)