Not necessarily; there is no universally established dominant allele for black noses in wolves. Nose color is likely influenced by multiple genes and can vary among populations.
Explanation
The color of a wolf’s nose is a pigmentation trait involving melanin deposition in the nasal tissue. While some wolves (and many domestic dogs) can have black noses, the inheritance of nose color is not as well characterized as some coat-color traits. In dogs, a well-known dominant allele (the K^B allele at the CBD103 locus) can cause solid black coats, illustrating dominance for coat color, but this does not automatically translate to nose color. Nose pigmentation may involve different genes and can be polygenic or influenced by population history and environment. Consequently, there is no general rule that black-nose alleles are dominant across all wolf populations.
Key Points
- 1, The genetics of wolf nose color is not universally defined and likely involves multiple genes and population-specific variation.
- 2, A known dominant-black coat-color allele (CBD103 K^B) demonstrates dominance for coat color, but its effect on nose color is not established.
- 3, Without gene-specific data for a given population, one cannot assert that black-nose alleles are universally dominant.