Mo^br/- (sex-linked), or
A^vy/* (striping on red background), or
a^m/a^m (striping on black background)

"The Brindle mouse shall have streaks, bars and numerous little areas of any colour over a diluted background. These markings shall be evenly distributed over the mouse including the face and belly. Large blotches of solid colour or white background to be considered a fault. Central demarcation lines along spine, face and belly permissible. Eye any colour."

Breeding information below the pictures.

	Two Agouti Brindles (Avy/A B/* C/* D/* P/*) Australian SH Brindle Mice Pipsqueeks Rajah & Sari b. & o: Virginia McGrath pic: Peter Bolitho
	Brindles of different colour combinations: Black Brindle Avy/a B/* C/* D/* P/* (left), Dove Brindle Avy/a B/* C/* D/* p/p (below) and Lilac Brindle Avy/a b/b C/* d/d P/* (top). Australian SH Brindle Mice from the Pipsqueeks mousery. b. & o: Virginia McGrath pic: Peter Bolitho
	Beige Brindles (Avy/a \ Avy/A B/* ce/ce D/* P/*). As standards for Brindle do not allow white striping or background colour, these mice wouldn't be showable as Brindles. However, they could be entered as Tortoiseshells. Australian SH Brindle (Tortoiseshell) Mice PipsqueeksPipsqueeks Yeti & Kathmandu b. & o: Virginia McGrath pic: Peter Bolitho

Note: This article is old and waiting to be rewritten.

Quick Look

Mo^br

Brindle appeared as a spontaneous mutation in 1953. It is a rather difficult variety to breed for several reasons even though it's dominant. First of all, it is sex related so that only females show the distinctive pattern. Males resemble more Siamese mice with curly whiskers. Brindle is also usually lethal for males. If some Brindle males survive and are fertile, mated with a Brindle female all mice in the litter resemble the father. Another thing is a neurological condition present in the Brindles, they wobble when walking and shake. When lifted from the tail, the hind legs of a Brindle mouse also clasp together instead of spreading out.

A^vy

Another, much easier and fully viable gene giving Brindle, is "viable yellow" A^vy. This gives a mouse with red body colour and stripes. The colour of the stripes depends on the other a-locus gene the mouse has: A^vy/A gives agouti based striping, A^vy/a self. The presence of dilutions such as blue or chocolate, affect the striping as well. A^vy suffers from obesity and consequently fertility problems. Some clubs call this variety "Tiger".

Striping shows on both A^vy/* and A^vy/A^vy mice, although the former can be somewhat easier to breed into distinctive striping colours. The latter gets agouti-resembling striping. All in all, the fenotype varies greatly from all red through mottling to agouti. Interestingly, the a-locus genotype and fenotype of the female influences the appearance of the young strongly. A^vy/a is said to have greater tumor susceptibility than A^vy/A, along with other problems of the immune system.

a^m

Third option for Brindle mouse would be "agouti mottled", a^m. This recessive gene is very variable in appearance. The fenotypes can vary from Black mice looking like a^e/a^e (extreme black - jet Black mouse) through various degrees of yellow and black mottling to Agouti. Obviously, the mottling is what a breeder would be after. As with A^vy, the a-locus genotype and fenotype of the female has stronger ifluence over the fenotype of the young than that of the male.