Description:
The black coat gene is a dominant mutation in pigs that causes the swine to have black skin and hair. These are common in most Asiatic breeds of swine, as in China it is preferred to have black skin on a market animal, where in the US and other European countries, white skin is preferred (3). It is unknown when the mutation came about, but it was formally introduced in 1982.
The order of dominance is Black > Red > Wildtype > Spotted, meaning that any pig with the dominant black gene can "cover up" any red or spotted patternings in a swine. It looks the same - completely black - regardless of if it has one or two copies of the gene. It is possible to get white parts on the black (like the white belt seen in Hampshires) with additional dilutions.
It is a requirement for Hampshires and Large Black Pigs to have the black coat gene. It is preferred to have it in True Black (or homozygous) form of the gene, and most Hampshires will have two copies due to selective breeding and pedigrees.
Breeding with Black Coat:
For more information about breeding with this kind of gene, please see here.
True Black pig x Red pig = 100% Black pigs, Red Carrier
(EB/EB x Er/Er = 100% EB/Er)
Black pig x Wildtype = 100% Het. Black pigs
(EB/EB x eb+/eb+ = 100% EB/eb+)
True Black pig x Het. Black Pig = 50% Black Pig, 50% Het. Black Pig
(EB/EB x EB/eb+ = 50% EB/EB, 50% EB/eb+)
Het. Black Pig x Het. Black Pig = 25% True Black, 50% Het. Black, 25% Wildtype
(EB/eb+ x EB/eb+ 25% EB/EB, 50% EB/eb+, 25% eb+/eb+)
References & Further Reading
Kijas, J. M. H., et al. "Melanocortin receptor 1 (MC1R) mutations and coat color in pigs." Genetics 150.3 (1998): 1177-1185.
Ollivier, L., and Pierre Sellier. "Pig genetics: a review." Annales de genetique et de selection animale. Vol. 14. No. 4. EDP Sciences, 1982.
Zheng, Hao, et al. "Association between MC1R gene and coat color segregation in Shanxia long black pig and Lulai black pig." BMC Genomic Data 24.1 (2023): 74.