Bengal Cat Genetics

*Bengal Cat Genetics*

This section is just a basic outline of some dominant and recessive traits that can be used in a Bengal cat breeding program. By no means am I an expert, but these are just some basics that I have learned through my research of the Bengal cat.

*Colors:

*The Bengal cat is accepted for Championship status in a variety of colors and basically two patterns. The Brown, Silver, and Snow. The snow can be broken into three color variations. The Seal Lynx Point with blue eyes, the Seal Sepia with gold or green eyes, and the Seal Mink with blue-green eyes or aqua. These snows can also be Silver Snows but we will touch on the basic Snows here. To keep it simple, the Seal Lynx Point has two copies of the Siamese gene (csXcs), the Seal Sepia has two copies of the Burmese gene (cbXcb), and the Seal Mink has one copy of each (csXcb). So we can do a test breeding and can have a good idea as to what the kittens will look like (phenotype). Let's breed a Seal Lynx Point to a Seal Sepia:

* Seal Lynx Point (csXcs) X Seal Sepia (cbXcb) = 100% (csXcb) or Seal Mink kittens.

Now let's breed a Seal Lynx Point to a Seal Mink:

* Seal Lynx Point (csXcs) X Seal Mink (csXcb) = 50% (csXcb) or Seal Mink kittens and 50% (csXcs) or Seal Lynx Point kittens.

Now let's breed a Seal Lynx Point to a Seal Lynx Point:

* Seal Lynx Point (csXcs) X Seal Lynx Point (csXcs) = 100% (csXcs) or Seal Lynx Point kittens.

Now let's breed a Seal Mink to a Seal Sepia:

* Seal Mink (csXcb) X Seal Sepia (cbXcb) = 50% (csXcb) or Seal Mink kittens and 50% (cbXcb) or Seal Sepia kittens.

What if we breed a Brown Spotted that carries for Seal Lynx Point to a Seal Sepia:

* Brown Spotted carrying Seal Lynx Point (MZXcs) X Seal Sepia (cbXcb) = 50% (MZXcb) or Brown Spotted carrying Seal Sepia kittens and 50% (csXcb) or Seal Mink kittens. If this Brown Spotted carried for Seal Sepia and was bred to a Seal Lynx Point then you would have 50% (MZXcs) or Brown Spotted carrying Seal Lynx Point kittens and 50% (csXcb) or Seal Mink kittens. Note: Mink cannot be carried, only Seal Lynx Point or Seal Sepia can be.

Now let's breed a Brown Spotted carrying Seal Lynx Point to a Brown Spotted carrying Seal Sepia:

* Brown Spotted carrying Seal Lynx Point (MZXcs) X Brown Spotted carrying Seal Sepia (MZXcb) = 25% (MZXMZ) or Brown spotted kittens, 25% (MZXcb) or Brown Spotted kittens carrying Seal Sepia, 25% (MZXcs) or Brown Spotted kittens carrying Seal Lynx Point, and 25% (csXcb) or Seal Mink kittens. So 75% of the kittens should be Brown Spotted but will carry differently or not at all. You can use these equations for other colors such as the other recessive colors including melanistic, fawn, chocolate, and blue. Remember these recessive colors are not accepted in the breed standard but the Snows are. You can do the same with the Silver Bengal Cats but keep in mind that Silver is dominant to Brown, so Silver can carry for Brown but Brown never carries for Silver. This can be applied to the Snow Bengal Cats, as well. That is how we get Silver Snows in Lynx Point, Sepia, and Mink.

Thanks to inexpensive DNA testing, we can now find what color recessives our breeding cats carry rather than find out through test breedings. This way we can choose our breedings more carefully to get desired results.

*Patterns:

*These same equations can be used for pattern. Let's take a Brown Spotted that carries for Marble and breed to another Brown Spotted that carries for Marble:

* Brown Spotted carrying Marble ( MzXmz) X Brown Spotted carrying Marble (MZXmz) = 25% (MZXMZ) or Brown Spotted kittens homozygous for spotting, 50% (MZXmz) or Brown Spotted kittens carrying for Marble, and 25% (mzXmz) or Marble kittens.

Now let's breed a Marble to a Brown Spotted homozygous for spotting (does not carry any recessives):

* Marble (mzXmz) X Brown Spotted homozygous (MZXMZ) = 100% (MZXmz) or Brown Spotted kittens all carrying for Marble. Now you can mix it up and get all kinds of colors and patterns depending on what recessives the breeding cats carry for. That's where Marble Snows can come in to play as well as Silver Marble Snows.

Let's try one more breeding. A bit more complex but see the possibilities. We will breed a Brown Spotted that carries for both Marble and Seal Lynx Point (MZXmzcs) with a Marble Seal Mink (mzcsXmzcb):

* (MZXmzcs) X (mzcsXmzcb) = 25% (MZXmzcs) or Brown Spotted kittens carrying for marble and Seal Lynx Point, 25% (MZXmzcb) or Brown Spotted kittens carrying for marble and Seal Sepia), 25% (mzcsXmzcs) or Marble Seal Lynx Point kittens, and 25% (mzcsXmzcb) or Marble Seal Mink kittens.

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* Things to remember are Spotting is dominant to Marble, Brown is dominant to Snows, Silver is co dominant to Browns. None can carry for Seal Mink. Seal Mink is created with two separate recessives - Seal Lynx Point and Seal Sepia. Snows and Marbles are recessives, but good ones.

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*If any of this seems to be confusing, give me a call. I love to chat Bengal Cats!*

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Bengal Cat Genetics