• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • WordPress
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
Science Update

Science Update

Sharing Science | Satisfying Curiosity | Debunking BS

  • Spotlights
  • Reality Check
  • Why Is It?
  • Radio Archives
  • Sciup @ School
Home » Radio Archive » Daily Show » Feline Fur Genetics

Feline Fur Genetics

October 1, 2012
https://podcast.scienceupdate.com/121001_sciup_cat.mp3

Podcast: Play in new window

BOB HIRSHON (host):

Decoding cat coats…I’m Bob Hirshon and this is Science Update.

From zebra stripes to hyena spots, mammals come in a dazzling array of color patterns. Now, a group of scientists has uncovered some of the gene mutations behind this variety. Stanford geneticist Christopher Kaelin and his colleagues report in the journal Science that a gene called Taqpep is responsible for the stripes seen on domestic tabby cats. But a mutation to this gene converts those stripes into blotchy swirls. The researchers also discovered that a mutation to the same gene turns cheetah spots into stripes and blotches.

CHRIS KAELIN (Stanford University/Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology):

A pattern variant called the king cheetah pattern looks remarkably similar to the blotched tabby pattern that we see in the domestic cat.

HIRSHON:

He says other mutations to the Taqpep gene may account for the lack of patterning on lions and cougars. He adds that humans also have the gene, but its function in us is unknown. I’m Bob Hirshon for AAAS, the science society.

Originally thought to be a different species, the king cheetah pattern, caused by a mutation to the Taqpep gene, is a rare recessive variant. (Chris Kaelin/Stanford University/Science Magazine)
A striped, or "mackerel" tabby cat displaying the ancestral tabby pattern. (Helmi Flick/Science)
A tabby cat with a mutation to the Taqpep gene, giving it a blotchy, swirled pattern (Helmi Flick/Science)
Category: Daily Show, Station DownloadTag: Biology, Genetics & Evolution, Wildlife
Previous Post:Podcast for 28 September 2012
Next Post:Socially Deprived Brains

Sidebar

Radio Program Archives

Want to learn more about the brain? The environment? Here you can browse the topics that come up regularly on Science Update.

Search the Archives

Categories

  • Daily Show
  • Station Download
  • Weekly Show

Find By Tag

  • 2020
  • Acoustics & Sound
  • Aging
  • Animal Behavior
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Astronomy & Space
  • Biology
  • Brain Science
  • Bugs
  • Cat Video
  • Chemistry
  • Children & Families
  • cicadas
  • Climate & Weather
  • Communications
  • Computer Science
  • Economics & Business
  • Education
  • Energy
  • Engineering & Technology
  • Environment & Conservation
  • Genetics & Evolution
  • Geology
  • Marine Science
  • Materials Science
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine & Health
  • Microbiology
  • Nanotechnology
  • NASA
  • Nutrition & Food Science
  • Paleontology & Dinosaurs
  • Physics
  • Plants & Agriculture
  • Political Science
  • Reality Check
  • Social & Behavioral Sciences
  • Sports & Fitness
  • spotlight
  • Spotlight Bugs
  • Terrorism & War
  • Why Is It? Questions
  • Wildlife
  • Year in Review

Find By Date

Science Update
  • About Science Update
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

Image of computer screen depicting an orange cat with a variety of alphanumeric scientific data superimposed on the the screen.
Spotted skunk performing handstand to threaten predators

Copyright © 2025 · Springtail Media LLC · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Pongos