Posted on 01/23/2023 6:27:28 PM PST by algore
Intricate color patterns are a defining aspect of morphological diversity in the Felidae.
We applied morphological and single-cell gene expression analysis to fetal skin of domestic cats to identify when, where, and how, during fetal development, felid color patterns are established.
Early in development, we identify stripe-like alterations in epidermal thickness preceded by a gene expression pre-pattern. The secreted Wnt inhibitor encoded by Dickkopf 4 plays a central role in this process, and is mutated in cats with the Ticked pattern type.
Our results bring molecular understanding to how the leopard got its spots, suggest that similar mechanisms underlie periodic color pattern and periodic hair follicle spacing, and identify targets for diverse pattern variation in other mammals.
Understanding the basis of the animal color pattern is a question of longstanding interest for developmental and evolutionary biology.
In mammals, markings such as cheetah spots and tiger stripes helped motivate theoretical models, such as the Turing reaction−diffusion mechanism, that have the potential to explain how periodic and stable differences in gene expression and form might arise from a uniform field of identical cells
(Excerpt) Read more at nature.com ...
The British have already done it…
Not gonna comment, especially the custard sauce.
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