The researchers started looking all over Finland for “salmiak” coloring cats by advertising in the media. But the search for classical genes did not yield any results. Then the scientists decided to dig deeper and sequenced the entire genome of the two cats, finding a mutation in a chromosome region very close to the KIT gene. It was missing a huge part of the sequence – about 95,000 base pairs.
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This factor affected the expression of the KIT gene, which is responsible for white coloration in many wild animals. To check the result, the researchers studied a large group of different cats, among which were owners of the rare color “salmiak”. Out of 181 cats, three had this coloring. And all of them inherited the described gene mutation from both parents. Three more cats had this gene variation from one parent, and the rest had no mutation at all.
The obtained results allowed us to assume that the mutation is recessive, that is, it can be manifested in the color of the animal only when both parents have it. The authors of the study believe that the found new genetic mechanism of acquiring the color of cats can be useful in breeding.
