Can you explain a bit about the charcoal gene in bengals, along with how it plays into stuff like colorpoint and mink and sepia genes? Also stuff like solid seal mink bengals that have ghost markings because I am. Obsessed with all these weird traits.
The charcoal allele, Apb, is an allele of the agouti gene, inherited from wildcats. With the normal tabby gene (ApbA), it looks pretty much identical to a normal tabby, with itself (ApbApb), it presents as a slightly darker version of tabby sometimes called twilight charcoal, and with solid (Apba) it looks like your normal charcoal. It appears to suppress red pigment somewhat, and noticeably darkens the back and certain areas of the face.
It’s pretty common for dark tabby markings to show through the point somewhat, but the solid points with ghost markings are pretty odd. It can’t be due to the charcoal allele, since solids can only be aa, so it’s most likely some other Bengal gene interacting with the solid in a weird way that only really shows up when the cat is pointed.