Feline Genetics and Why Orange Cats Are the Most Special
1 min read
Summary
Two teams of scientists have independently discovered why some cats have orange fur, discovering that the cause is a suppression of black-brownish pigmentation in favour of orange coloration, a mutation linked to the X-linked ARHGAP36 gene.
The tabby coat pattern is thought to originate in wildcats, and naturally bred cats often display the pattern, while the two coat patterns most commonly associated with the orange mutation without being purely orange are the tortoiseshell and calico patterns.
The mutation that creates orange fur occurred once thousands of years ago and has persisted in cat populations ever since, with orange cats and calico and tortoiseshell cats being the result of a unique moment in history.
The article suggests that there may be a parallel in the fair-skinned, be-freckled red-headed human phenotype.
