Affected gene: FGF5
Mode of inheritance: Autosomal
*Long hair is autosomal recessive, while short hair is dominant.
OMIA link: 000439-9685
 
Several variants (mutations) are responsible for long hair in cats.
The test detects:
Allele I (M4): Several breeds (mutation chrB1: 139634260G>T)
Allele l^MCC1 (M3): Maine Coon and Ragdoll  (mutation chrB1: 139634261del)
Allele l^MCC2 (M5): Maine Coon (chrB1: 139634158C>T)
 
However, it does not detect: Allele l^NFC (M2) for the Norwegian Forest Cat and Allele l^Rag for the Ragdoll (M1) (contact us if you need to test these variants).


Phenotype:
Coat length varies between cat breeds and even between individuals of the same breed. Four mutations responsible for long coats in domestic cats have been identified in a single gene. Three of these mutations are relatively specific to certain breeds, while the fourth is present in all long-haired cat breeds as well as in crossbred cats.