Riardi Genetic Codex- Albinism & Leucism

Albinism (ALB-Locus)

Albinism is a distinct, independent trait coded on the ALB locus which requires homozygosity to express in a riardi individual. It has nothing to do with dilution, double-dilution, nor the ultra-bright mutation.

Genotype alb/alb: Normal pigmentation.
Genotype ALB/ALB: Albinism expression. Independent of other pigmentation or bright-mutation loci.
Phenotypic Indicators: White fur (translucent over time), pale pink/red eyes, brittle claws, and sun sensitivity. Vision impairment severity is variable.

Leucism

Leucism is classified as a functional byproduct of the uBL (defective ultra-bright) allele rather than a standard albinism trait.

Mechanism: uBL acts as a defective modifier on the Ultra-Bright (UB) gene.
Phenotypic Indicators: Leucistic appearance with light blue eyes.

This table clarifies how ALB, UB, and immunity modifiers interact to produce the final phenotype for riardi with albinism or leucism:

Phenotype	UB Genotype	Immunity Modifier	Albinism Status	Visual Result
Ultra-Bright	`UB/ub`	`UFI/ui`	`alb/alb`	Full Ultra-Bright expression.
Leucistic	`uBL/ub`	`ui/ui`	`alb/alb`	Leucistic; light blue eyes.
Albino	Any	Any	`ALB/ALB`	Full Albino (Overrides UB/Leucism).