Curly Coat/Hairless Coat – Devon Rex and Sphynx

In cats, the growth and structure of coat hairs is partially governed by the gene for keratin 71 (KRT71). Mutations to KRT71 can result in several different curled coats, known as “rexoid”, and even in the hairlessness of the Sphynx breed.

The mutation responsible for the Sphynx’s distinctive lack of hair is designated as “hr”. The mutation is recessive to the wild-type (which results in normal hair growth), but is dominant over the mutation “re”, which causes the Devon Rex curly-coat mutation.