QuickCheck: Do cats only come in two colours?
Education & Human Capital
BY VIVIEN LIM
Cats rank among the most cherished pets worldwide, with personalities as lively and diverse as their coat patterns.
From the lovable Oyen to the sassy calico and the distinguished tuxedo, there seems to be no end to the diverse array of colours that cats can come in. Or is there?
It is claimed that, on a genetic level, cats come in only two primary colours – orange and black.
Is this true?
VERDICT:
TRUE
What you see is not always what you can believe. Despite cats coming in white, brown, grey, and everything in between, every domestic feline is, technically speaking, one of two base colours.
This is related to how cat coat genetics function. The two pigments involved in the expression of colour are eumelanin, which is responsible for black pigmentation, and phaeomelanin, which is responsible for orange (scientifically known as ‘red’) pigmentation.
Any other colour of a cat results from combinations or dilutions of these two pigments. Other genetic factors can also influence the expression of coat patterns, such as tabby or Siamese markings.
For instance, the dilute gene can transform black cats into grey or orange cats into cream, while the point-restricted gene, on the other hand, is responsible for creating Siamese-like markings where the extremities of the cat, such as its nose and paws, are darker.
Partially or entirely white cats result from the W masking gene, which leads to a loss of pigmentation. This also technically means that most white cats are not true albinos, as their bodies remain capable of producing pigmentation.
Interestingly, the “orange” phaeomelanin is only found on the X chromosome.
This explains why orange cats are more commonly male: as females have two X chromosomes and males have one X and one Y, this means that a female cat must inherit two orange genes (one from each parent) to be born orange.
Calico and tortoiseshell cats, on the other hand, are almost always female. Male calicos or torties only occur due to rare genetic mutations, which may cause a male to have an extra X chromosome (XXY) or possess two different sets of DNA. This also results in male calico and tortoiseshell cats being sterile.
However, as the saying goes, beauty isn't skin deep. Every cat is lovable, regardless of their colour (and even if they wake you up at 4am for their third "breakfast" of the day).
0 Comments
No comments yet. Be the first to comment!