💁🏻♀️ TIL: 🐈🧬 A team at #Stanford identified the ancient genetic mutation that makes orange #cats orange – a tiny deletion on the X chromosome that flips a gene on in pigment #cells, blocking dark pigment and turning fur orange.
The mechanism is unlike anything seen in any other #mammal, which explains why about 80% of orange cats are male: the mutation is on the X chromosome. The #study traces the #mutation back to #medieval times, when calico cats appeared in 12th-century #paintings.
👉 https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/orange-cats-are-very-genetically-unique-indeed/
#genetics #science #biology #dna #animals #research #felines