Cat colors

Dominant white color and white spotting have been found in many cat breeds. In many cases, the cause is the insertion of a common feline endogenous retrovirus into the KIT gene. Insertion of 7125 bp results in white spotting (Ws), while partial insertion of long terminal repeats (LTR) results in dominant white (W). Dominant white: one W allele is sufficient for the color to appear. White spot: recessive to dominant white, with other colors manifests itself in the presence of at least one Ws allele. The spotting pattern does not depend on the number of Ws alleles. It is known that this allele is not the cause of all variants of white spot, there are other mutations. It is important to note that white spotting in cats is a difficult trait. The test identifies the Ws allele, dominant in relation to the wild type, encoded by the KIT gene. There are other variants of white spot, encoded by both KIT and other genes, which are not detected by this test.