科學(xué)家首次發(fā)現(xiàn)老虎身上的條紋,、美洲豹身上的斑點(diǎn)和家貓身上的紋理至少和3種基因有關(guān)。
巴西南里奧格蘭德天主教大學(xué)的研究者 Eduardo Eizirik說(shuō)：“我們希望這項(xiàng)研究結(jié)果可以打開(kāi)研究哺乳動(dòng)物皮膚相關(guān)的基因的大門(mén),。我們同時(shí)希望了解哺乳動(dòng)物不同皮膚斑紋是如何形成的,，以及在不同環(huán)境中所起的作用，例如野生貓科動(dòng)物身上的皮膚“偽裝”所起到的重要作用,。
發(fā)表在2010年《遺傳學(xué)雜志》1月刊上的研究報(bào)告稱(chēng),，科學(xué)家研究了具有不同條紋和斑點(diǎn)的家貓，并跟蹤其后代的皮膚斑紋,。利用稱(chēng)為連鎖圖譜的統(tǒng)計(jì)程序,，科學(xué)家確定了2組基因的位置?？茖W(xué)家希望識(shí)別出所有有關(guān)的基因并確定是否適用于其它的哺乳動(dòng)物,。這項(xiàng)研究可為治療人類(lèi)皮膚疾病提供更多的科學(xué)依據(jù)，并且可能改變?nèi)祟?lèi)皮膚的顏色基因,，創(chuàng)造出“斑馬人”,、“豹人”及各種皮膚顏色。
《遺傳學(xué)雜志》主編約翰·斯頓(Mark Johnston)說(shuō)：“這項(xiàng)研究可以幫助我們更好的了解其它哺乳動(dòng)物頭發(fā)和皮膚顏色相關(guān)的基因。同時(shí),，可以為皮膚疾病提供新的治療手段。”（生物谷Bioon.com）
相關(guān)研究：
Science：狗的皮毛特征由3種基因決定
PLoS Genetics：家豬皮毛的花紋和斑點(diǎn)系人為改變
Science：黑狼原是和狗雜交的后代
Science：小鼠為適應(yīng)環(huán)境改變皮毛顏色
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Genetics, Vol. 184, 267-275, January 2010, doi:10.1534/genetics.109.109629
Defining and Mapping Mammalian Coat Pattern Genes: Multiple Genomic Regions Implicated in Domestic Cat Stripes and Spots
Eduardo Eizirik*,,,1, Victor A. David*, Valerie Buckley-Beason*,2, Melody E. Roelke, Alejandro A. Sch?ffer**, Steven S. Hannah, Kristina Narfstr?m, Stephen J. O'Brien* and Marilyn Menotti-Raymond*
* Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, Faculdade de Biociências, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul 90619-900, Brazil, Instituto Pró-Carnívoros, Atibaia, Sao Paulo 12945-010, Brazil, Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, SAIC-Frederick, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, ** PetCare Company, National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland 20894, Nestlé Purina, Saint Louis, Missouri 63164 and Department of Ophthalmology, Mason Eye Institute, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211
1 Corresponding author: Faculdade de Biociências, PUCRS, Av. Ipiranga 6681, Prédio 12, Porto Alegre, RS 90619-900, Brazil.
Mammalian coat patterns (e.g., spots, stripes) are hypothesized to play important roles in camouflage and other relevant processes, yet the genetic and developmental bases for these phenotypes are completely unknown. The domestic cat, with its diversity of coat patterns, is an excellent model organism to investigate these phenomena. We have established three independent pedigrees to map the four recognized pattern variants classically considered to be specified by a single locus, Tabby; in order of dominance, these are the unpatterned agouti form called "Abyssinian" or "ticked" (Ta), followed by Spotted (Ts), Mackerel (TM), and Blotched (tb). We demonstrate that at least three different loci control the coat markings of the domestic cat. One locus, responsible for the Abyssinian form (herein termed the Ticked locus), maps to an 3.8-Mb region on cat chromosome B1. A second locus controls the Tabby alleles TM and tb, and maps to an 5-Mb genomic region on cat chromosome A1. One or more additional loci act as modifiers and create a spotted coat by altering mackerel stripes. On the basis of our results and associated observations, we hypothesize that mammalian patterned coats are formed by two distinct processes: a spatially oriented developmental mechanism that lays down a species-specific pattern of skin cell differentiation and a pigmentation-oriented mechanism that uses information from the preestablished pattern to regulate the synthesis of melanin profiles.
