A Splice Variant in KRT71 Is Associated with Curly Coat Phenotype of Selkirk Rex Cats

June 2013 in “ Scientific Reports ”

Barbara Gandolfi, Hasan Alhaddad, Shannon E K Joslin, Razib Khan, Serina Filler, Gottfried Brem, Leslie A. Lyons

KRT71 gene curly coat phenotype genome-wide case-control association study haplotype Selkirk Rex cats cat chromosome B4 curly hair gene curly fur

TLDR A gene variant in KRT71 causes the curly fur in Selkirk Rex cats.

A study on the Selkirk Rex breed, known for its tightly curled hair, identified a splice site variant in the KRT71 gene associated with this curly coat phenotype. The research involved a genome-wide case-control association study with 9 curly-coated Selkirk Rex cats and 29 controls from related breeds. A significant association was found on cat chromosome B4, with a unique haplotype spanning ~600 Kb present in all curly-coated cats. This finding highlighted the genetic basis for the distinctive fur of the Selkirk Rex breed.

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