page_title: Cream gene
section_title: Cream mimics
hierarchical_section_title: Cream gene / Cream mimics
caption_attribution_description: Comparison between the pale blue eyes of a homozygous cream horse (top) and dark blue unpigmented eyes (bottom).
context_page_description: The cream gene is responsible for a number of horse coat colors. Horses that have the cream gene in addition to a base coat color that is chestnut will become palomino if they are heterozygous, having one copy of the cream gene, or cremello, if they are homozygous. Similarly, horses with a bay base coat and the cream gene will be buckskin or perlino. A black base coat with the cream gene becomes the not-always-recognized smoky black or a smoky cream.
  Cream horses, even those with blue eyes, are not white horses. Dilution coloring is also not related to any of the white spotting patterns.
  The cream gene is an incomplete dominant allele with a distinct dosage effect. The DNA sequence responsible for the cream colors is the cream allele, which is at a specific locus on the MATP gene. Its general effect is to lighten the coat, skin and eye colors. When one copy of the allele is present, it dilutes "red" pigment to yellow or gold, with a stronger effect on the mane and tail, but does not dilute black color to any significant degree. When two copies of the allele are present, both red and black pigments are affected; red hairs still become cream, and black hairs become reddish.
context_section_description: Other coat colors may mimic the appearance of a cream coat color. The presence or absence of the cream gene can always be verified by the use of a DNA test.   Also, as explained in "Mixed dilutes," below, horses may simultaneously carry more than one dilution gene.   Dilution genes which, by themselves, may be confused with cream dilutions include the following:
  Bay dun vs. Buckskin: the action of the dun gene on bay produces a buckskin-like coat. Additional confusion occurs because in some countries, it is still customary to refer to buckskins as "dun", particularly in the British pony breeds. Bay duns tend to have a flatter coat color, more tan or peanut butter-colored than bronze, and also exhibit primitive markings.
  Amber champagne vs. Buckskin: the action of the Champagne gene on bay can also produce a buckskin-like coat. Champagnes can be identified by their freckled skin, hazel eyes, and chocolate (rather than black) points.
  Flaxen chestnut vs. Palomino: Horses having light chestnut coats with flaxen manes and tails, such as those found in the Haflinger breed, can be confused with palominos. However, unlike chestnuts, palomino is inherently a heterozygous condition and thus cannot be true-breeding. Furthermore, even the lightest chestnut will retain "red" character in the hair, rather than gold.
  Gold champagne vs. Palomino: the action of the Champagne gene on chestnut was for many years called pumpkin-skinned palomino. However, lighter, freckled skin and hazel eyes identify a gold champagne, which can otherwise look much like a palomino.
  Pearl vs. Palomino:  the action of the pearl gene only occurs when the pearl allele is homozygous.  In such cases, the red hairs are lightened to an apricot color.
  Pseudo double-dilute vs. Cremello:  A horse that has one cream allele and one pearl allele may resemble a homozygous cream, including pinkish skin and blue eyes. A combination of one cream and one Champagne allele may also produce a similar phenotype, though may be distinguishable by lighter yellowish or blue eyes and pale, faintly freckled skin.
  White vs. Double dilute:  White horses with blue or dark eyes and pink skin are born white and remain so throughout life. Cremello and isabelline horses that bleach out in the sun may approach a near-white shade, but have some skin pigment, exhibited by a slightly more peach skin tone and blue-eyed creams have a less vivid shade of blue when compared to that of an unpigmented blue-eye.
  Gray vs. Double dilute: Gray horses are born a normal color and grow progressively lighter in their coat, while double-dilute creams do not. Grays that are not affected by a dilution gene do not have blue eyes or pink skin unless they are due to white markings. There are, however, records of palominos, buckskins, smoky blacks, and double-dilute creams that also carry the gray gene.
caption: Comparison between the lightly pigmented blue eye of a perlino (top) versus a pure blue "unpigmented" eye, created by an unpigmented layer of cells at the front of the eye.
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