>Do you think that may be these different lines are just markers for the leucistic gene?



I think it is unlikely. I might change this opinion in the following scenario -- A lesser platinum and a mojave mated and produced a leucistic. This leucistic was mated to a normal. Their babies showed a range of appearances from lesser on one end to mojave rather than being divisible into lessers and mojaves.



>And that there may be the possibility that during meosis, the gene for the color/pattern of these lines could crossover on the homologous chromosome; and end up making an animal that looks like a mojave/lesser/etc., yet doesn't carry the ability to produce a leucistic?



I think you mean a crossover in the middle of the gene. It's possible, but if there was only one base pair difference in the sequence of the two genes, then the results of the crossover would be no different from the original genes. A real difference would require a difference of two base pairs and a crossover between them. And then the results might be no more than other genes in the list of alleles that Randy gave.



>Might the only true way to know that your getting a heterozygous for leucistic animal be to by an offspring of one?



By pedigree will do it. A leucistic from a mojave x lesser platinum has a lesser mutant gene paired with a mojave mutant gene. The two genes are different, which makes a heterozygous snake that is leucistic. Though I'd probably be more likely to call it a lesser platinum//mojave.



Heterozygous means that the two genes in a gene pair are different. This can mean that one gene is a normal gene and the other is a mutant gene. Or it can mean that the two genes are different mutant genes, such as lesser platinum//mojave.



Paul Hollander

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