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How does cats' fur color be controlled by genes? Explore the wonderful influence of "dilution" genes!
The color of cats' fur is determined by genes, which affects the color, pattern, length and texture of their fur. These variations should not be confused with the cat's breed, because a cat may exhibit a specific breed's fur color, but it is not actually that breed. For example, a new Poria cat (Siberian dot cat) may wear dot-like colors, which is typical of Siam cats’ fur. Advances in genetic science have made our understanding of cat fur colors more deeply, especially the role that "dilute" genes play in the process.
The relationship between pigment and coat color
The formation of cat hair color is mainly responsible for two types of pigments: melanin (eumelanin) and phaeomelanin.
Melanin is responsible for the dark fur of cats, while red pigment mainly affects brown or red fur.
The role of diluting genes
In cats' genes, the D gene is related to diluted pigments. When a cat has two recessive D alleles, its black fur will change to "blue", while the chocolate will change to "lavender", and the red will change to "cream". Similar to red cats, all cream cats are spotted cats. In this case, the d allele causes the hair color to be diluted, while the D/D or D/d genes do not affect the hair color.
Striking spotted cats and tabby cats
Spotted cats and tabby cats have a variety of fur color changes, forming a unique combination of dark patterns and light backgrounds. These changes are derived from the interaction between multiple genes and their phenotypes. The patterns of tabby cats include:
- McCreer type: slender dark stripes
- Classic: wider dark stripes or swirl shapes
- Spot type: peeling off into independent spots
- No stripes: There are no clear stripes on the body except for the legs, face and tail.
The special color of cats: tortoiseshell cat and tricolor cat
The fur color of tortoiseshell cats is composed of orange hair and black or brown hair interlaced, which is mainly caused by X-chromosome inactivation. Because this requires two X chromosomes, most tortoiseshell cats are females, and only 1 out of about 3,000 are males. The appearance of male tortoiseshell cats is often related to Kerry's syndrome or chimera. In addition, the tortoiseshell cat with a relatively small amount of white markings is called a tricolor cat in the United States. The division of three-color cats is determined according to the arrangement and combination of pigments and the ratio of white.
Exploration of white spots and colors
In addition, the white part in the fur is determined by the KIT gene. This gene determines whether any white combination appears, except for the complete white fur caused by albinism. Through different alleles of this gene, we can see various forms of hair colors from small white spots to all white.
New discovery: Color dots and whitening phenomenon
The most typical cat with fur color is a Siamese cat, and its root cause is a temperature-sensitive mutation that causes color to appear in parts of slightly lower body temperature (such as face, ears, feet and tail). In this process, two different gene alleles can affect the color and form different color dot variations.
Summary
The relationship between cats' fur color and genes is complex and wonderful, and the "dilution" gene plays an important role in it. With the advancement of genetics, scientists have gradually explored more mysteries about cat fur color. For all cat lovers, understanding how these genes affect fur color is not only a piece of knowledge, but also a sense of awe and understanding of these cute creatures. In such a world full of colors and changes, which cat would you choose as your companion?
