Gene behind cheetah spots and cat stripes identified

The gene that produces striking dark stripes on tabby cats is also responsible for the spots on cheetahs, a new study has found.

Scientists found that a mutation of this same gene causes the stripes in cats and spots on cheetahs to become blotchy.

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, the National Cancer Institute and HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville, found that the two felines share a biological mechanism responsible for both the elegant stripes on the tabby cat and the cheetah’s normally dappled coat.

Dramatic changes to the normal patterns occur when this pathway is disrupted - the resulting house cat has swirled patches of colour rather than orderly stripes, and the normally spotted cheetah sports thick, dark lines down its back.

“Mutation of a single gene causes stripes to become blotches, and spots to become stripes,” researcher Greg Barsh said.The differences are so pronounced that biologists at first thought that cheetahs with the mutated gene belonged to an entirely different species.

The rare animals became known as “king cheetahs”, while affected tabby cats received the less-regal moniker of “blotched”.“How do periodic patterns like stripes and spots in mammals arise? What generates them? How are they maintained?

What is their biological and evolutionary significance? It’s kind of surprising how little is known.“Until now, there’s been no obvious biological explanation for cheetah spots or the stripes on tigers, zebras or even the ordinary house cat,” Barsh said in a statement.
Comparing gene sequences of feral cats with different patterns allowed co-first authors Christopher Kaelin and Xiao Xu to identify mutations in a gene they dubbed Taqpep associated with the blotched tabby markings.

“We are excited about the idea that Taqpep might be an entry point to understand if, and how, reaction-diffusion mechanisms can explain ‘how the leopard got its spots’,” Barsh added.