I read that clones of a domestic cat can have a completely different coat than their “parent”. I wondered how that is possible. Genotypically, the animals are identical. Shouldn’t that lead to an identical phenotype?
Answer
This does not only occur in house cats. Cloned calves, and twin calves, also do not have an identical spotting pattern.
This is because your genes do not record a description of your appearance, but describe the proteins that are responsible for that characteristic. Sometimes the protein completely determines the characteristic it stands for: the A protein on the outside of a red blood cell determines that you will have blood group A (or AB, if there is also a B protein on that red blood cell).
But sometimes the protein, together with accidental external influences, determines what the end result will be. This is the case with the color patterns in the skin of domestic cats.
Answered by
Peter Van Dooren
science journalist with broad knowledge
Nationalestraat 155 2000 Antwerp
http://www.itg.be/
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