Salty Licorice🧂
I’m a little late to the news… In 2024, Salmiak made headlines after the identification of the gene causing this coat pattern in cats.
Originally found in feral cat populations in Finland, the previously named Finnish Roan coat was dubbed “Salmiak” after its resemblance to the Finnish salty licorice.
It is caused by a “95-kb deletion (a segment of DNA 95,000 base pairs long is missing) located downstream of the feline KIT gene” (the gene that determine white in a cat’s coat, except for albinism).
This white spotting locus is referred to as W, and is W^D for white dominate, w^S for white spotting, and Salmiak has been designated as w^sal.
In this mutation of the white spotting gene, it affects the migration of melanocytes (the cell that produce color) causing the hairs to transition from having pigment at the base to white at the tip creating the roan effect.
It is a recessive pattern that requires both parents to have the genetic mutation making it relatively rare. Most documented examples are cats with a black base coat with tuxedo-style white spotting, but it can also occur on red based coats as well!
I’m curious how many people care for the licorice flavor, I know it’s divisive. In the US we’re used to the red, cherry or strawberry flavored “licorice” that contains no licorice flavoring.
Links: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/age.13438
