Bengal Cat Coats Are Less Wild Than They Look, Genetic Study Finds

Sarah C.P. Williams, from Stanford Medicine, writes that Bengal cats have marbled and spotted coats that make them look like smaller versions of jungle cats. It was assumed that the coats they have come from genes of Asian leopard cats that were bred with house cats, but now researchers are finding new evidence for another reason. They have discovered that their coat can be traced back to domestic cat genes that were aggressively selected for after cats were bred with wild cats. The appearance of the Bengal cat has always been present in domestic cat and through breeding they were able to bring the genes out. 

Cats are a good subject to use when studying how genetic variation leads to variation in appearance.  Asian leopard cat species Prionailurus bengalensis was crossed with domestic cats to create a new breed. Over many generations, cats with desired traits were selectively bred. Bengals were an interesting subject to study because they a recent genetic origin and unique appearance. This information is incredibly valuable to breeders because they will be able to “fine-tune” the way they breed animals to create new colors and patterns. Breeders are contributing their cats’ DNA for the study and want to be part of the data analysis as they are interested in learning more about their cat. Artificial selection is powerful, and research are just starting to realize this as they have discovered that Bengal cat coats could have possibly been selected without the help of the Asian leopard cat. 

As someone with an interest and a love for cats reading this article was intriguing. I never would have thought that the reason for the Bengals coats wasn’t because they were being bred from Asian leopard cats. It was interesting to learn that the coat colors came from the domestic cat and the genes were coaxed from specific breeding. 

Main Article: https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2024/03/bengal-cats.html

2nd link: https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/breed/asian-leopard-cat 

Gene Mutation Changed Cheetah’s Spots to Stripes

This article detailed current research about how U.S. researchers in sub-Saharan Africa have determined the biological mechanism for stripes in the coat of both tabby cats as well as the cheetah’s “normally spotted coat.” Interestingly enough, feral cats found in northern California played an essential role in the study. The study revealed that it was a specific biological pathway that, when affected by a certain mutation, caused the gene caused stripes to become blotches as well as spots to become stripes. In the past, the differences between the striped and spotted cheetahs (which are evident in cats as well) were so significant that biologist had believed that they belong to two distinct species altogether. Even despite this discovery, experts still pose the question of how relatively little is known of the, “biological explanation for cheetah spots or the stripes on tigers, zebras or even the ordinary house cat.”

I thought that this article was extremely interesting, especially with how long humans have been exposed to the species of cheetahs and cats and how little are still known about these animals. I also had some questions about which coat pattern, if any, would provide the greater level of biological fitness, and how these gene mutation could then be beneficial or detrimental to the affected individual. If a certain mutation causes a specific coat pattern to present a greater level of biological fitness, perhaps in the future we may only see striped cheetahs, and spotted cheetahs may be a rare sight. It is exciting, and also frightening how little is still known about the genome of humans and the other organism we interact with daily. I was also interested in how soon it would be before humans could manipulate this gene in cheetahs and if such research would lead to applications in other organisms or even humans.