Suri, coat structure (alpaca)

LABOKLIN Service ID: 8984

There are two varieties of alpaca with different coat structures: Huacaya and Suri.

The more common Huacaya wool is compact, soft and heavily crimped. Suri wool, on the other hand, is characterized by smooth and shiny fibres with very little crimp. The Suri phenotype has been associated with both reduced cold tolerance and potentially reduced fitness.

Inheritance of the Suri phenotype is autosomal dominant, whereby the variant is most likely embryonically non-viable (lethal) if it is homozygous. Mating two Suri alpacas should therefore be avoided as a matter of urgency.

Heredity	autosomal dominant
Duration	1 - 2 weeks after arrival of the sample in the lab