thanks for the shout-out Magu
@irrepairable-vessel - freakshow as you know is recessive. the biggest thing we need to understand about recessive traits is that typically they ‘recede’ from the gene pool. dominant traits will dominate them, and subsequently ‘push out’ recessive genes from the gene pool. it’s nature’s way of making sure vitality is the number one priority when growing.
the easiest way to explain the process for recessive hunting is by a standard line-breeding program.
P1 [ freakshow mother ] x P2 [ any unrelated male ] = F1
F1 x F1 [ siblings ] = F2
F2 is the generation where the genome ‘busts open’ and the possibility for recessive phenotypes occurs. when outcrossing freakshow, this is the first opportunity to find ‘freak phenos’ with the new genetics introduced.
it can also be demonstrated with a Mendelian table.
P1 → aa
P2 → AA
P1 x P2 = F1 thus can be written… aa x AA = Aa, Aa, Aa, Aa
F1 x F1 = F2 thus can be written… Aa x Aa = aa, AA, Aa, Aa [ this is the f1 → f2 cross ]
as you can see there are 4 possibilities in the f2 generation - aa, AA, Aa, Aa
the seeds that express [ 25% ] will be aa, like the original freakshow mom. they will exhibit the freakshow leaves at f2. if you take two of those specimen and breed them together, the resulting f3 seeds will be 100% ‘locked in’.
if that isn’t confusing enough, freakshow also seems to carry this odd set of traits where only the females carry the freak genes. this presents a couple of issues… namely that if you don’t use a freakshow female, your chances of finding pinnate specimen in the progeny drops off dramatically. for some odd reason the traits follow the females. one of the advantages to being XX-linked is that we’re able to tell which specimen are male in the f1 generation.
eventually i might do a youtube video explaining mutant breeding techniques… it’s infinitely easier to explain in every other form than basic text.
if you have questions please ask and i’ll try to explain it in another way.