I agree that there is a dominant, and recessive based Wheaten. How else would you get a Buff without it ? Your boy should be dominant for gold, ie. recessive wheaten, George.
There is a long standing debate among geneticists about whether there is more than one wheaton gene. One dominant and one recessive, or a single gene acting differently depending what it is coupled with.
There are some good geneticists that claim that they have never found a recessive allele, and that modifying genes determine it's dominance.
Then there are good geneticists that claim to have found evidence that there is. Seams it is often coupled with something else, so it seams both sides could claim this evidence to make their claim.
One thing that cautions me from determining anything definite among geneticists is that they all depend on other people's work. It becomes a matter of considering the source. No dummy like me can sort through all of that. I would feel confident about one side or the other if there was ever a solid consensus between the two camps. As far as I know, there is more than two "wheaton genes".
There is no way that I could debate this, because I have no position. I am not qualified to have a position, but I have observed the different modern positions. I have also noticed wheaton acting differently in different cases. Like Piet mentioned above. Upon initial observation, wheaten appeared recessive. But under further examination . . . .
I am familiar with how what is expressed is a chemical reaction, and that proteins determine the result. They either inhibit or admit a reaction to take place. So obviously it will act differently in different cases. That is about all I can handle before my eyes glaze over.
The only reason that I ended up wandering into this dark wood, is trying to get an understanding how to breed what I have. I all I really want to know is how to apply it practically.
I do not trust the "codes" that get tossed around and believed in either. What we have is often a bit different than when they were written. Then the under standing of these things evolve.
To sum it up, Doubting Thomas is doubting again.