American specialists have shown that the DKK4 gene is responsible for the formation of domestic cats at an early stage of development of the fetus of certain patterns of wool. The article of researchers was published in the journal Nature Communications.
Previously, researchers managed to detect a gene, which is expressed at the base of the follicle and is responsible for the “bandaging” of cats. However, strips are visible at the earliest stage of the formation of the follicle, so scientists from Stanford University suggested that the pattern itself is formed before their occurrence.
In the feline embryos obtained in sterilization, they managed to identify the “preuses” – the thickening of the skin, which were identical to the future patterns. The study of these tissues has shown that in those areas of the skin, which will then become dark wool follicles, the DKK4 gene is very active. It is an inhibitor of the WNT signaling path that is responsible for cell differentiation during the development of the embryo.
Researchers managed to show that the disappearance of the bands in some Abyssinian cats are responsible for DKK4 mutations with a loss of function. “If you turn off DKK4, dark areas will not completely disappear – they will become smaller and more densely grouped,” said one of the Gregory Barsh researchers.