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Highland lynx and desert lynx kittens12/19/2023 Each of these could cause a frameshift resulting in a malformed Brachyury protein. They sequenced the T (tailless) gene in several unrelated lineages of Manx cats from both the USA and the Isle of Man, where the cats originated, and identified three 1-bp deletions (three separate deletions of base pairs from the DNA) and one duplication/deletion. The authors of the "Brachyury and short tails" study noted that five cat breeds were known to have abnormal tail length phenotypes: the American Bobtail, the Manx, the Pixie-Bob, the Kurilian Bobtail, and the Japanese Bobtail (the Karelian, Toy-Bob and short-tailed Chausies were not surveyed). Although the bobtailed mutation in American Bobtails and Pixie-Bobs was believed to be unrelated to the mutation found in the Manx, recent DNA analysis has found some shared alleles (Multiple mutant T alleles cause haploinsufficiency of Brachyury and short tails in Manx cats, Buckingham, K.J., McMillin, M.J., Brassil, M.M. In the Japanese Bobtail, the gene itself is autosomal dominant, however, homozygous cats have the desired bobtailed trait therefore breeders treat the gene as though it were recessive. However, the Kurilian Bobtail is due to an incomplete dominant gene, while the similarly named Karelian’s bobbed tail is due to a recessive gene. The PixieBob and American Bobtail are also based on mutations of the same gene. The Manx breed is based on one of those mutations, and that mutation can have side effects such as spina bifida. there are four different versions of the same gene. More recent research indicates that the “tailless gene” (T) has 4 alleles i.e. The Manx and the Asian bobtails are due to different mutations, though this would not be established until later. He studied Singapore's cats in 1959 and eventually concluded that stubby-tailed cats were common in Singapore, but in general were rare in Europe except for the Manx breed where the tail was often completely absent. Searle found no kinked tails in London cats. Bobtail cats occur throughout Asia and into Russia, with more recent mutations occurring in the USA. They have been reported in Bosnia, Burma, China, Crimea, Java, Malaya, Denmark, Nova Scotia and Thailand though some of these will have been bobtails. "Tailless" cats have occurred periodically around the world through random mutation. Unlike the Manx mutation, there appear to be no detrimental effects of the bobtailed mutations. The kink therefore marks where it knotted its tail - a charming tale, but acquired traits are not passed on in this way. She threaded them on the cat's tail and the cat knotted its tail so the rings did not fall off. According to folklore, colourpointed cats were kept by Thai royalty and one legend has it that a princess entrusted her rings to a palace cat while she bathed. It is well know that early Siamese cats had kinked full-length tails and this is still seen in Siamese-type cats in Thailand, but has been bred out of pedigree Siamese cats. The bobtail mutation(s) is widespread throughout Asia, extending as far as Russia. It is often possible to feel a bony knot inside the kink where vertebrae have fused. The degree of kink is variable and the vertebrae are affected so that the tail cannot be straightened. The bobtail trait ranges from a normal-length tail with a distinct kink, through to a short twisted pom-pom and just about anything between those two extremes. In 1868, Darwin wrote in The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication "Thropughout an immense area, namely the Malayan archipelago, Siam, Pegu, and Burmah, all the cats have truncated tails about half the proper length, often with a sort of knot at the end." Curly tailed cats were known in China in the 12th Century (probably bobtails) and ringtail cats were known in the USA sometime prior to 1940. There are various mutations affecting the tail and in 1940 American zoologist Ida Mellen wrote of oddities in cats' tails including kinked, bobbed, curled and even double tails. It is on average 25 cm (10 inches) long, but can range from 20 cm (8 inches) to 30 cm (12 inches) with a few exceptional specimens having 35 cm (14 inch) tails The normal tail has 21 - 23 vertebrae on average with the normal range being 18 - 28 vertebrae.
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