Munchkin cat’s genetics

The Munchkin is a relatively new breed of cat characterized by its very short legs, which are caused by a naturally occurring genetic mutation. Much controversy erupted over the breed when it was recognized by The International Cat Association in 1995 with critics voicing concern over potential health and mobility issues. The munchkin gene is autosomal dominant. Homozygous embryos for the munchkin gene are not viable due to gene lethality, and do not develop in the womb. Only kittens that are heterozygous for the munchkin gene develop into viable short legged munchkin kittens. Because only heterozygous munchkin cats are able to pass on the gene, all litters with at least one munchkin parent have the possibility of containing kittens with the phenotypes: short-legged or normal-legged (referred to as non-standard munchkin), with the genotypes of Mm or mm, where M is the trait for short legs and m is the trait for long legs. The mating of two munchkin parents, Mm x Mm, have the chance of producing these offspring: 25% MM- a nonviable kitten, 50% Mm-short-legged, 25% mm- normal. The resulting litter will be 2/3 Mm-short-legged and 1/3 mm-normal. Punnett squares, in which the M represents the dominant munchkin gene and the m represents the recessive normal gene, may be used to illustrate the chances of a particular mating resulting in a short-legged cat. Kittens bearing two copies of the munchkin gene (MM) will not develop in the womb. Kittens bearing one munchkin gene and one normal gene (Mm) will be short-legged munchkins. Kittens bearing two normal genes (mm) will be normal. Mm munchkin kittens will be able to pass on the munchkin gene to their own offspring. Normal mm kittens will not, as they do not have a copy of the munchkin gene. For each kitten conceived from this mating, there is a 25% chance it will fail to gestate, a 25% chance it will be normal, and a 50% chance it will be short-legged. For each kitten conceived from this mating, there is a 0% chance it will be homozygous for the munchkin gene, a 50% chance it will be normal, and a 50% chance it will be a munchkin. #Munchkin #breed #homozygous #embryos #Heterozygous #phenotypes #genotypes #punnettSquares #CuteKitten #kitten #kittens #whiteKitten #CAT #cats #viralPaws #scottishFold #babyKitten #fluffyKitten #kitty #KittenPile #cute #adorable #makeYourDay #meltYourHeart #cats101 #munchkinCat101 #munchkinHistory #munchkinBreed #catBreedMunchkin #101Cats #shortlegMunchkin101 #munchkinCatDisease #munchkinCatHealth #munchkinCatPersonality #munchkinCat101Training