Salmiak coloration in cats. Distinctive features of the coloration are: “tuxedo” white patches (also called bicolor) in the absence of white patch alleles (Ws, g) and an additional gradation of pigment in hairs of the primary color to no pigmentation at the tips of the body, legs and tail. In addition, there are primary colored patches in the white areas of the forelegs and chest, more intense coloration in the shoulder blade area and a very pale tail tip. Image credit: (a) Ari Kankainen and (b–e) courtesy of the cat owners. Image credit: Animal genetics (2024). DOI: 10.1111/age.13438
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Salmiak coloration in cats. Distinctive features of the coloration are: “tuxedo” white patches (also called bicolor) in the absence of white patch alleles (Ws, g) and an additional gradation of pigment in hairs of the primary color to no pigmentation at the tips of the body, legs and tail. In addition, there are primary colored patches in the white areas of the forelegs and chest, more intense coloration in the shoulder blade area and a very pale tail tip. Image credit: (a) Ari Kankainen and (b–e) courtesy of the cat owners. Image credit: Animal genetics (2024). DOI: 10.1111/age.13438
A team of geneticists and animal welfare specialists from the UK and the US have identified the genetic mutation responsible for a newly discovered colour pattern in the fur of cats in Finland. In their study, published in the journal Animal geneticsThe group sequenced the genomes of two of the cats.
In 2007, people in Finland noticed that some wild cats had strikingly colored fur. Instead of the typical tuxedo pattern, the cats had hair that was black at the base and became increasingly whiter towards the tip. The pattern soon became known as the “Finnish mutation” because some animals were adopted and placed in private homes. In this new study, the research team investigated the genetic mutation responsible for the change.
The researchers gave the new coat pattern an official name: They christened it salmiak, after a popular Finnish licorice. They then announced that they were looking for cats with the new coat pattern and asked volunteers to bring them in for testing.
Initial testing of the cats found no evidence of mutations known to affect white coat coloration. This prompted the team to perform whole genome sequencing on two of the cats. They found a mutation at a site near the KIT gene that had previously been linked to several white coat patterns in domestic cats – they also noticed that a section of the sequence was missing further down.
Next, the research team checked to see if they had found the variant they were looking for. They looked for it in 181 cats and found it in three of them that had the ammonia coat. All three had also inherited it from both parents. They also found three other cats that had the variant but no ammonia coat – they had inherited the mutation from only one parent.
The research team believes they have identified the recessive mutation responsible for the development of the new, unique coat pattern.
More information:
Heidi Anderson et al., A new Finnish variant of cat coat coloration, ‘salmiak’, is associated with a 95 kb deletion downstream of the KIT gene. Animal genetics (2024). DOI: 10.1111/age.13438
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