Tabby Coat Color (Mackarel, Blotched)

Acronym:	TABBY
Gene:	LVRN
Mutation:	c.176C>A, c.682G>A, c.2522G>A
Inheritance:	Autosomal dominant
Sample type:	CHS (Cheek Swab), WBE (Whole Blood EDTA)

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Genetics and characteristics

Tabby Coat Colour or Tabby markings are unique coat patterns found in domestic cats for which no causative candidate gene has been inferred from other mammals. Tabby markings are composed of two features: a light background component where individual hairs have extensive light bands, and a superimposed darker component where hairs have little or no banding. Four distinct tabby patterns have been described in cats so far –  ticked, mackerel, blotched, and spotted and they are all associated with the variants of Transmembrane aminopeptidase Q (Taqpep), which encodes a membrane-bound metalloprotease enzyme. Two of those patterns, mackerel and blotched, are caused by mutations within the LRNV gene encoding a protein that enables metalloaminopeptidase activity. In mackerel cats pattern is organized into narrow vertical stripes with a constant and regular spacing, whereas in blotched cats, the dark component is expanded into a less organized structure with wide whorls.

Both Mackerel and Blotched coat patterns in cats show a complex mode of inheritance and are only expressed in agouti cats. Mackerel pattern is dominant to Blotched which means cats that carry one or both mutated Ta^M genes will show Mackerel tabby coat. Since Blotched Ta^b is recessive to Mackerel, both mutated genes are required for a cat to develop a Blotched pattern. Early genetic testing can identify carriers of the specific variant that causes tabby coat patterns and help breeders in the future selection of mating pairs.

 

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Results Reported As

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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References:

Kaelin, C. B., Xu, X., Hong, L. Z., David, V. A., McGowan, K. A., Schmidt-Küntzel, A., Roelke, M. E., Pino, J., Pontius, J., Cooper, G. M., Manuel, H., Swanson, W. F., Marker, L., Harper, C. K., van Dyk, A., Yue, B., Mullikin, J. C., Warren, W. C., Eizirik, E., Kos, L., … Menotti-Raymond, M. (2012). Specifying and sustaining pigmentation patterns in domestic and wild cats. Science (New York, N.Y.), 337(6101), 1536–1541. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1220893

Kaelin, C., Barsh, G. (2010). Tabby pattern genetics - a whole new breed of cat. Pigment cell & melanoma research, 23(4), 514–516. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-148X.2010.00723.x

Lyons, L. A., Bailey, S. J., Baysac, K. C., Byrns, G., Erdman, C. A., Fretwell, N., Froenicke, L., Gazlay, K. W., Geary, L. A., Grahn, J. C., Grahn, R. A., Karere, G. M., Lipinski, M. J., Rah, H., Ruhe, M. T., Bach, L. H. (2006). The Tabby cat locus maps to feline chromosome B1. Animal genetics, 37(4), 383–386. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2052.2006.01458.x