Transcriptional profiling of fetal skin from an orange cat

The Sex-linked orange mutation in domestic cats causes variegated patches of reddish/yellow hair and is a defining signature of random X-inactivation in female tortoiseshell and calico cats. Unlike the situation for most coat color genes, there is no apparent homolog for Sex-linked orange in other mammals. We performed RNA sequencing to complement 3' end single-cell RNA sequencing of the same biosample, to identify full length transcriptional isoforms that are differentially expressed within pigment cells from orange and nonorange skin tissues.