Cornish Rex CoatQuick Summary
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Phenotype: Cornish Rex cats have short, soft, curly coats.
Mode of Inheritance: Autosomal recessive
Alleles: N = Normal coat, CR = Cornish Rex coat
Breeds appropriate for testing: Cornish Rex
Explanation of Results:
- Cats with N/N genotype will have normal coats and cannot transmit this Cornish Rex coat variant to their offspring.
- Cats with N/CR genotype will have normal coats and are carriers of this Cornish Rex coat variant. Matings between two carriers are predicted to produce 25% of kittens with Cornish Rex coats.
- Cats with CR/CR genotype will have a Cornish Rex coat and will transmit this Cornish Rex coat variant to all of their offspring. Matings with other CR/CR genotype cats are expected to produce all Cornish Rex coated kittens.
Cat DNA tests are carried out using cells brushed from your cat's cheeks and gums using household cotton swabs.
The cat DNA submission form with instructions and a place to tape the cotton swabs is sent to you via email after you place an order, and can be printed from your home computer. DNA test kits are no longer mailed.
Instructions
Step-By-Step:
1.
Purchase regular household cotton swabs for cat DNA collection (the cotton swabs can be purchased at a pharmacy or drug store)
2.
Make sure the cat has not had anything to eat or drink for at least 1 hour prior to collecting sample.
When swabbing kittens, isolate each kitten from the mother, littermates and any shared toys for 1 hour prior to swabbing. Kittens should not have nursed or eaten for 1 hour prior to collecting sample.
If collecting samples from more than one cat, make sure to sample one cat at a time and wash your hands before swabbing another cat.
3.
Use both ends of the two cotton swabs for a total of four swabs.
4.
Place the cotton head of the swab between the cat’s gums and cheek and rub or rotate the swab back and forth for 15 seconds. Repeat with each cotton swab head, for a total of 4 swabs. We recommend swabbing a different area of the gums with each swab head.
5.
Wave the swab in the air for 10-15 seconds to air dry it before attaching it to the submission form.
6.
After swabbing the cheek and gums, tape the cotton swabs to the bar-coded submission form printed from your MyVGL account.
ATTENTION:
- Do not collect saliva/drool – the key to obtaining a good sample is getting cheek cells on the swab.
- Do not rub swab on the cat’s tongue or teeth – this will result in poor quality sample.
- Do not collect a sample from a kitten that has recently nursed – the mother’s genetic material can rub off on the kitten’s mouth and contaminate the sample.
The Cornish Rex breed of cat is characterized by a soft curly coat. The Lyons Feline Genetics Research Laboratory at University of California, Davis identified a 4 bp deletion (c.250-253 delTTTG) in lysophosphatidic acid receptor 6 (LPAR6). The mutation, inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion, affects the function of a gene crucial for hair formation and maintenance and is fixed in Cornish and also found in German Rex cats.
Testing for the Cornish Rex curly coat mutation in Cornish Rex cats can assist breeders in confirming breed affiliation as they are fixed for the variant. Test results can also be used in outcrossing programs, to help breeders select the carrier cats that could produce curly coat in the next generation.