1. Specifying and Sustaining Pigmentation Patterns in Domestic and Wild Cats.
- Author
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Kaelin, Christopher B., Xiao Xu, Hong, Lewis Z., David, Victor A., McGowan, Kelly A., Schmidt-Küntzel, Anne, Roelke, Melody E., Pino, Javier, Pontius, Joan, Cooper, Gregory M., Manuel, Hermogenes, Swanson, William F., Marker, Laurie, Harper, Cindy K., Van Dyk, Ann, Yue, Bisong, Mullilkin, James C., Warren, Wesley C., Eizirik, Eduardo, and Kos, Lidia
- Subjects
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ANIMAL coloration , *FELIDAE , *METALLOPROTEINASES , *AMINOPEPTIDASES , *CELLULAR signal transduction , *PATTERN formation (Biology) , *ENDOTHELINS , *NATURAL selection , *TABBY cats - Abstract
The article discusses a study investigating pigmentation patterns in domestic and wild cats. The authors note that color markings among wild cat (felid) species display both diversity and a common underlying periodicity, arguing that a similar range of patterns in domestic cats suggests a conserved mechanism whose appearance can be altered by selection. Topics include the authors' identification of the gene responsible for tabby pattern variation in domestic cats, called Transmembrane aminopeptidase Q (Taqpep), which encodes a membrane-bound metalloprotease, the results of analyses of 31 other felid species, and a discussion of transgenic mouse studies that found paracrine expression of Endothelin3 (Edn3) coordinates localized color differences.
- Published
- 2012
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