Spinal Muscular Atrophy is more common in Maine Coons than other cat breeds.This disease appears when neurons of the body muscles start dying that greatly affects the back limbs of the cat.This is an inherited disorder.A newly born kitten would suffer from this disease if he has taken it from both of it's parents.A test is introduced by Michigan State University in which the deletion in DNA is detected from cat cheek cells.DNA taken from these cheek cells is then subjected to Polymerase Chain Reaction(PCR) to amplify the portion of the genome harboring the deletion.Then the normal and deleted alleles are separated on the basis of the size of the amplification products.Cats suffering from SMA can be identified on the basis of mutant and normal allele.
A part of information in this article is taken from Maine Coons Fanciers Association website.
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