A feline chimera is a cat whose cells contain two types of DNA, caused when two embryos fuse together. Among cats, "chimeras are really not all that rare," Lyons said. In fact, most male tortoiseshell cats are chimeras. The distinctively mottled orange and black coat is a sign that the cat has an extra X chromosome.
The striking Chimera cat results from a very rare genetic quirk. They an amazing appearance with the fur on one side of its face one colour, and the fur on the other side a different colour. In many Chimera cats, the line that separates the two colours is almost straight.
Probably not as rare as people think. The most noticeable feature of a chimera cat—its coloring—may not be present at all, or may be so subtle that it goes unnoticed unless you know what to look for. Interestingly, a professor at UC Davis named Leslie Lyons says that most male tortoiseshell cats are probably chimeras.
Therefore, nearly all cats with these color patterns are female (X from mom and X from dad equals XX, or female). Once in a while, an embryo fusion will take place. If one of the fused embryos were female and one was male, that cat could be male. That male is more than likely to be a chimera (but again, not always).
How healthy are chimera cats? In some cases, chimera cats may have health problems or other abnormalities due to their unique genetic makeup. For example, they may have a higher risk of certain genetic disorders or may have problems with their immune system.
The main ethical issues are the risks of consciousness and of human features in the chimeric animal due to a too high contribution of human cells to the brain, in the first case, or for instance to limbs, in the second.
A particular area of concern is the creation of chimeras with human brain cells. These organisms may be capable of self-awareness to the extent that they understand their identity and circumstances, which would produce unbearable suffering.
Some chimeras are fertile, while others are not. It depends on their specific DNA. When it comes to male calicos and torties, they are usually sterile. While it's possible for them to be fertile, it's more often the case that they're not.
Chimeras can often breed, but the fertility and type of offspring depends on which cell line gave rise to the ovaries or testes; varying degrees of intersex differences may result if one set of cells is genetically female and another genetically male.
Hormonal imbalances have caused lionesses to grow manes, a trait usually reserved for male lions that have reached puberty, and there are some uncommon instances of cats being born with both male and female sex organs, known as hermaphrodite cats.
Albino. We'll finish out our list of rare cat colors with the rarest of them all: albino. This is when there's no coloring at all, and it impacts not just a cat's fur, but also its eyes and skin.
In mythology, a chimera is a creature made up of the parts of different animals. Famous examples include the griffin (half eagle, half lion) and the minotaur (half bull, half man).
CHIMAERA CONSERVATION
They're long-lived - it's thought they live up to 30 years, likely longer. They also reach sexual maturity late and produce few young. As a deep-sea species, chimaera are at further risk from deep-sea trawling. A largely indiscriminate method of fishing in which they're caught as bycatch.
How common are chimera cats? While chimerism among animals is exceedingly rare, among cats, "chimeras are really not all that rare", explained Leslie Lyons, a professor at the University of California, Davis. In fact, Lyons explains that most male tortoiseshell cats are probably chimeras.
Basically, two fraternal twins join to create one cat. That means the cat will have two sets of genetics. Some cells will have one genotype, and others will have a different one. Where a mosaic has one set of DNA from two parent cells, a chimera has two sets of DNA from four parent cells!
However, despite some similarities, they are actually quite different. Calico cats are known for their distinctive tri-color coat, while chimeric cats have two distinct fur patterns on different sides of their body.
Included among the different known types of animal chimeras are dispermic and twin chimeras, microchimeras, and parthenogenetic and androgenetic chimeras. (For information on the phenomenon in plants, see chimera.)
There are no current federal U.S. laws that govern human-animal chimeric research.
Despite its promises, chimera research poses scientific, religious, and ethical problems. The scientific concerns mostly involve the public health consequences of the spreading of disease between species. Many of the deadliest diseases, such as AIDS, have only recently spread from animals to humans.
A feline chimera is a cat whose cells contain two types of DNA, caused when two embryos fuse together. Among cats, "chimeras are really not all that rare," Lyons said. In fact, most male tortoiseshell cats are chimeras. The distinctively mottled orange and black coat is a sign that the cat has an extra X chromosome.
The child will never have DNA from both twins. This is what happened in the “failed paternity” story above. The same is true if the mother were a chimera. Only one of her egg cells (either her original or her “twin's” egg cell) would fuse with dad's sperm, and both would produce a genetically normal child.
After proper genetic testing, it was discovered that Narnia is not a chimera, a genetic anomaly that results in an extra X chromosome in the early stages of his development.
Human-animal chimeras provide the ability to produce human organs in other species using autologous stem cells [e.g., induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) or adult stem cells], which would be patient-specific and immune-matched for transplantation.
Significance of the Chimera
Not only because the creature itself was highly unlikely. Also, it is a unique figure in Greek mythology. There is only one such creature as the Chimera, something which is rather uncommon for the Greeks. The Chimera is believed to symbolize female evil.
The woman, singer Taylor Muhl, has a condition called chimerism, meaning she has two sets of DNA, each with the genetic code to make a separate person.