Pedigree Visualization and Tracking: A Complete Guide
Summary
A pedigree chart is not a nice-to-have, it is how you avoid inbreeding, plan the next cross, and explain your colony structure to a new lab member or an IACUC inspector in thirty seconds. Modern colony management software generates interactive pedigrees automatically from breeding records. This guide explains what to look for in pedigree tools and how Colony.care's visualization works.
What Makes a Good Pedigree Tool
A useful pedigree visualization does four things: shows the family tree across multiple generations without scrolling through a spreadsheet, overlays genotype data so you can trace allele inheritance, flags potential inbreeding before you set up a cross, and stays up to date automatically, every breeding event extends the tree without anyone manually drawing it.
How Colony.care Pedigrees Work
Every animal in Colony.care has a record of its parents, dam and sire, and its offspring. From those relationships, the system builds an interactive family tree. You can zoom in on one branch, expand to see all generations, and click any animal to open its full record. Genotype information (strain background, alleles, zygosity) overlays on the tree nodes. The consanguinity check calculates shared ancestry between any two animals and warns you before you set up a cross that exceeds your inbreeding threshold.
Because the pedigree is generated from live data, it is always current. No one needs to update a separate chart, when you record a litter, the tree grows automatically.
FAQ
How many generations does the pedigree show?
The pedigree visualization is not limited to a fixed number of generations. It renders all recorded relationships, from the founders through every recorded cross. You can zoom and pan to focus on any branch.
Can I export a pedigree for a publication or grant?
Yes. The pedigree view can be exported as an image or PDF for inclusion in publications, grant applications, or IACUC reports.