Golden cats: A never-ending story!

Area of Science:

• Genetics
• Animal Genetics
• Canine and Feline Genetics

Background:

• A novel golden coat modification, termed light-gold, akita, or copper, emerged in the British feline breed during the 2010s.
• This phenotype is characterized by restricted eumelanin to the tail tip and a wideband hair modification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the genetic basis of the copper coat color in British cats.
• To identify the specific gene and mutation responsible for this autosomal recessive trait.

Main Methods:

• Genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify candidate regions.
• Candidate gene analysis focusing on CORIN (Corin, serine peptidase).
• Genotyping of identified variants in affected and control cats across multiple breeds.

Main Results:

• A homozygous CORIN:c.2425C>T nonsense variant was identified in copper British cats, consistent with recessive inheritance.
• This variant predicts a truncated CORIN protein lacking critical functional domains.
• The variant was absent in other breeds, suggesting it is specific to the British feline population and the wb^BSH allele.

Conclusions:

• The CORIN:c.2425C>T nonsense variant is proposed as the cause of the copper coat color in British cats.
• This variant represents the wb^BSH (British recessive wideband) allele.
• The findings contribute to understanding feline coat color genetics and breed-specific mutations.