Mutations within the FGF5 gene are associated with hair length in cats.
Hereditary hair length variability in mice and dogs is caused by mutations within the fibroblast growth factor 5 (FGF5) gene. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feline FGF5 orthologue as a functional candidate gene for the long hair phenotype in cats, which is recessive to short hair. We amplified the feline FGF5 cDNA and characterised two alternatively spliced transcripts by RT-PCR. Comparative cDNA and genomic DNA sequencing of long- and short-haired cats revealed four non-synonymous polymorphisms in the FGF5 coding sequence. A missense mutation (AM412646:c.194C>A) was found in the homozygous state in 25 long-haired Somali, Persian, Maine Coon, Ragdoll and crossbred cats. Fifty-five short-haired cats had zero or one copy of this allele. Additionally, we found perfect co-segregation of the c.194C>A mutation within two independent pedigrees segregating for hair length. A second FGF5 exon 1 missense mutation (AM412646:c.182T>A) was found exclusively in long-haired Norwegian Forest cats. The c.182T>A mutation probably represents a second FGF5 mutation responsible for long hair in cats. In addition to the c.194C>A mutation, a frameshift mutation (AM412646:c.474delT) was found with a high frequency in the long-haired Maine Coon breed. Finally, a missense mutation (AM412646:c.475A>C) was also associated with the long-haired phenotype in some breeds. However, as one short-haired cat was homozygous for this polymorphism, it is unlikely that it has a functional role in the determination of hair length.
Drögemüller
C
C
Institute of Genetics, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland.
Rüfenacht
S
S
Wichert
B
B
Leeb
T
T
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002415:Cats / Q000235:genetics*; D051521:Fibroblast Growth Factor 5 / Q000235:genetics*; D006197:Hair; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020125:Mutation, Missense / Q000235:genetics*; D010375:Pedigree; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D051521:Fibroblast Growth Factor 5