Discovered decades long mystery of cats of ginger

Garfield, puss in boots, Aristocats’ Toulouse – perhaps cultural icons, ginger surely.

And now scientists have discovered the Mystery of DNA on two continents, which gave our furious friends, especially males, their notable color.

They found that ginger cats lacked part of their genetic code, which means that cells responsible for their skin, eyes and fur tones create lighter colors.

The breakthrough brought enthusiasm for scientists, but also thousands of cat lovers who originally funded the research.

Scientists hope that solving the puzzle could also help to illuminate whether the orange cats are at increased risk of certain health conditions.

For decades, genetics have been known to give orange tabby cats their characteristic coloring, but exactly where he has avoided scientists in the genetic code.

Two teams of scientists at Kyushu University of Japan and Stanford University in the United States have discovered a mystery in simultaneous work Posted on Thursday.

What the teams discovered was that in the cells responsible for the cat giving, the hair follicles and the eyes of their color – melanocytes – one gene, the Arhgap36, was much more active.

The genes consist of a piece of DNA that give instructions to cats, like other living creatures, about how to function.

Comparing DNA from dozens of cats with and without orange fur, they found that those with ginger coloring have part of DNA code that misses within this Arhgap36 gene.

Without this DNA activity, the ARHGAP36 is not suppressed, ie it is more active. Scientists believe the gene instructs and melanocytes to produce lighter pigment.

For decades, scientists have noticed that cats with completely coloring ginger are far more likely to be male. This increases with the fact that the gene is carried on the X chromosome.

Chromosomes are larger parts of DNA, and men’s cats like other mammals have an X and Y chromosome, which carry a different number of genes.

Since this is a gene only on the X chromosome, in this case by controlling the production of pigment, then one missing piece of DNA is enough to completely turn the cat into a ginger.

Compared to women’s cats, they have two X chromosomes, so DNA should be lacking in both chromosomes to increase the brighter pigment production to the same extent – this means that the mixed color is more likely.

“These ginger and black patches are formed because in early development, one x chromosome in each cell is randomly excluded,” explains Prof. Hiroyuki Sasaki, a geneticist at Kyushu University.

“As the cells are divided, it creates areas with different active gene genes, resulting in different stains.”

Although enrolled in science, the study originally started as a passionate project for Professor Sasaki.

He withdrew from his university post, but as a cat lover said that he wanted to continue working to detect the orange cat gene in the hope that he could “contribute to overcoming cats.”

He and his team collected 10.6 million yen (£ 55,109) crowdfunding to explore thousands of fellow cats around Japan and the world.

One associate wrote: “We are brothers and sisters in the first and third grades of elementary school. We donated with our pocket money. Use it to explore Calico cats.”

Gen Arhgap36 is also active in many other parts of the body, including the brain and hormonal glands, and is considered important for development.

Researchers believe that it is possible that the mutation of DNA in the gene can cause other changes in these parts of the body associated with health conditions or temperament.

Gen Arhgap36 is found in humans and is associated with skin cancer and hair loss.

“Many cat owners swear by the idea that different colors and patterns are associated with different personalities,” Profa Sasaki said.

“There is no scientific evidence for that yet, but it’s an intriguing idea and one would love to explore further.”