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Phenotype: The Selkirk Rex has a coat of curled hair that can be short or long. A single copy of the variant that causes the Selkirk Rex coat produces wavy hair, and two copies produce a tighter curl as well as a slender body type with long ears.
Mode of Inheritance: Autosomal incomplete dominant
Alleles: N = Normal coat, SLK = Selkirk Rex coat
Breeds appropriate for testing: Selkirk Rex
Explanation of Results:
- Cats with N/N genotype will not have a Selkirk Rex coat and cannot transmit this Selkirk Rex coat variant to their offspring.
- Cats with N/SLK genotype will have a Selkirk Rex coat with a wavy texture (heterozygous for the trait). They will transmit this Selkirk Rex coat variant to 50% of their offspring, and those offspring will exhibit a Selkirk Rex coat.
- Cats with SLK/SLK genotype will have a Selkirk Rex coat with a tighter curl (homozygous for the trait). They will transmit this Selkirk Rex coat variant to all of their offspring, and all of their offspring will exhibit a Selkirk Rex coat.
A dominant mutation that causes the curly coat in the Selkirk Rex breed has been identified. The variant behaves as an incomplete dominant; that is, one copy produces cats with a wavy coat and two copies produce a tighter curl to the hair. Homozygous cats also have a slender body type with large ears. Cats that are heterozygous for the variant are favored over homozygous cats, due to a preference for the sturdy body type, smaller ears and wavy coat.
The mutation was discovered by Dr. Barbara Gandolfi of the Lyons Feline Genetics Research Laboratory at the University of California, Davis (now at University of Missouri). The mutation affects function of a gene crucial for hair formation and maintenance.
Testing for the Selkirk Rex mutation assists breeders to select cats that will produce offspring with the desired outcome.
Species
Breed
| Test Result | Selkirk Rex Coats |
|---|---|
| N/N |
No copies of the Selkirk Rex mutation are present. |
| N/SLK |
1 copy of the Selkirk Rex mutation is present. 50% of offspring will inherit the Selkirk Rex curly coat. |
| SLK/SLK |
2 copies of Selkirk Rex mutation are present. All offspring will inherit the Selkirk Rex curly coat. If bred to a N/N mate, all offspring will be heterozygous for Selkirk Rex. |
Filler, S., Alhaddad, H., Gandolfi, B., Kurushima, J.D., Cortes, A., Veit, C., Lyons, L.A., & Brem, G. (2012). Selkirk Rex: Morphological and Genetic Characterization of a New Cat Breed. Journal of Heredity, 103(5), 727–733. doi: 10.1093/jhered/ess039
Gandolfi, B., Alhaddad, H., Joslin, S.E.K., Khan, R., Filler, S., Brem, G. & Lyons, L.A. (2013). A splice variant in KRT71 is associated with curly coat phenotype of Selkirk Rex cats. Scientific Reports, 3, 2000. doi: 10.1038/srep02000
