Manx Cat Short – tail Project

– other short-tailed breeds are welcome (American bobtails, pixiebobs, highlanders, and toybobs)

ALL PARTICIPATION IS CONFIDENTIAL.  No information about you or your cat will be shared with others in the project and all identifying information will be redacted for the final report.

Funding

Donations of funds for the study will increase the research priority. Donations can be made – tax deductible – at the MU GiveDirect site for the 99 Lives Project for the Lyons Laboratory: https://mizzougivedirect.missouri.edu/Item.aspx?item_id=251

Please add – “Lyons lab – Manx Cat Short-tail Project” – in the comments.

Why are we doing this project?

Trait-related health concerns have led to considerations of the “retirement” of the breed from all cat fancy registries.  Some worldwide registries already do not accept Manx or Cymric (long-haired Manx) for registry.  Before suggesting retirement, a study correlating the known DNA variants with health issues and tail length should be conducted. 

Who is conducting the research?

The Lyons laboratory at the University of Missouri, College of Veterinary Medicine is working with the University of California, Davis – Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (UC Davis VGL) and any other genetic testing laboratory that can test for the four tail variants in the Manx cats. 

How can I participate?

To be included in this study, DNA samples (buccal swabs) need to be sent to UC Davis or other commercial cat testing laboratories to determine the specific DNA variant for Manx tailless in the TBX1 gene that is within your cats.  The reports from UC Davis and your contact information would then be shared with Dr. Leslie Lyons (felinegenome@missiuri.edu – Manx Project).  Dr. Lyons will work with each breeder, including discussions of pedigrees, health conditions and tail types.  The data will be collated across participants, leading to a published research project. 

What breeds should participate?

Besides Manx and cymrics, all lineages of short-tailed cats should participate until they are proven to not have the Manx DNA variants, such as American Bobtails, Pixiebobs, Highlanders, and Toybobs.

Where do I send my buccal swabs and then my reports?

See the instructions for any commercial testing laboratory that can type for the Manx tail variants.  Here is the link for the UC Davis VGL:  https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/dna-tests/cat

Send reports to Dr. Lyons: felinegenome@missouri.edu (Manx Cat short – tail Project in subject line)

Background information

Manx cats are naturally tailless or short tailed cats with origins from the Isle of Mann.  Manx cats have had recognition as a breed for show for over 100 years and one of the earliest identified breeds.  Health issues associated with the lack or incomplete development of the tail has led to the collective health concerns being termed “Manx Syndrome” (1-6).  The health problems are likely due to poor innervation to the legs, bladder and lower gut that leads to lameness, incontinence, and constipation.  Other developmental issues can occur at birth, such as spina bifida (7-8).  The Manx tail length is variable and unpredictable and cats are often referred to as rumpy, rumpy rises, and stumpies (1,9).

Four different DNA variants in the gene called TBX1 have been identified in different lineages of Manx cats (10).  Thus, genetic testing for the specific DNA variant can be accomplished.  No study has correlated health issues or short tail length with the specific DNA variant, meaning perhaps some variants may not cause health issues and may produce a more predictable tail length.

In addition, newer breeds than the Manx, namely American Bobtails, Pixiebobs, Highlanders, and Toybobs are not supposed to perpetuate the Manx DNA variants within their lines of short-tailed cats.  Some American bobtail and Pixiebob cats were demonstrated to have one of the Manx DNA variants (10).  Japanese and Kurilian bobtails share a DNA variant in a different gene, HES7, which is not associated with health concerns (11-12).

References

  1. Howell JM, siegel PB. Phenotypic variablilty of taillessness in manx cats. J Hered. 1963 Jul-Aug;54:167-9. doi: 10.1093/jhered/54.4.167. PMID: 14057865.
  2. Howell JM, Siegel PB. Morphological effects of the Manx factor in cats. J Hered. 1966 May-Jun;57(3):100-4. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a107474. PMID: 6006809.
  3. James CC, Lassman LP, Tomlinson BE. Congenital anomalies of the lower spine and spinal cord in Manx cats. J Pathol. 1969 Feb;97(2):269-76. doi: 10.1002/path.1710970212. PMID: 4900931.
  4. Leipold HW, Huston K, Blauch B, Guffy MM. Congenital defects on the caudal vertebral column and spinal cord in Manx cats. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1974 Mar 1;164(5):520-3. PMID: 4813411.
  5. Deforest ME, Basrur PK. Malformations and the Manx syndrome in cats. Can Vet J. 1979 Nov;20(11):304-14. PMID: 393376; PMCID: PMC1789620.
  6. Woodside JR, Dail WG, McGuire EJ, Wagner FC Jr. The Manx cat as an animal model for neurogenic vesical dysfunction associated with myelodysplasia: a preliminary report. J Urol. 1982 Jan;127(1):180-3. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)53657-5. PMID: 7057494.
  7. Plummer SB, Bunch SE, Khoo LH, Spaulding KA, Kornegay JN. Tethered spinal cord and an intradural lipoma associated with a meningocele in a Manx-type cat. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1993 Oct 15;203(8):1159-61. PMID: 8244864.
  8. Song RB, Glass EN, Kent M. Spina Bifida, Meningomyelocele, and Meningocele. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 2016 Mar;46(2):327-45. doi: 10.1016/j.cvsm.2015.10.007. Epub 2015 Dec 23. PMID: 26725976.
  9. Robinson R. Expressivity of the Manx gene in cats. J Hered. 1993 May-Jun;84(3):170-2. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jhered.a111311. PMID: 8228170.
  10. Buckingham KJ, McMillin MJ, Brassil MM, Shively KM, Magnaye KM, Cortes A, Weinmann AS, Lyons LA, Bamshad MJ. Multiple mutant T alleles cause haploinsufficiency of Brachyury and short tails in Manx cats. Mamm Genome. 2013 Oct;24(9-10):400-8. doi: 10.1007/s00335-013-9471-1. Epub 2013 Aug 15. PMID: 23949773; PMCID: PMC3848309.
  11. Lyons LA, Creighton EK, Alhaddad H, Beale HC, Grahn RA, Rah H, Maggs DJ, Helps CR, Gandolfi B. Whole genome sequencing in cats, identifies new models for blindness in AIPL1 and somite segmentation in HES7. BMC Genomics. 2016 Mar 31;17:265. doi: 10.1186/s12864-016-2595-4. PMID: 27030474; PMCID: PMC4815086.
  12. Xu X, Sun X, Hu XS, Zhuang Y, Liu YC, Meng H, Miao L, Yu H, Luo SJ. Whole Genome Sequencing Identifies a Missense Mutation in HES7 Associated with Short Tails in Asian Domestic Cats. Sci Rep. 2016 Aug 25;6:31583. doi: 10.1038/srep31583. PMID: 27560986; PMCID: PMC4997960.