What brings Tom the cat from the animated series Tom and Jerry with the famous Grumpy Cat on Instagram?
The answer is the limbs, starting from the ankle and descending white distinctively from the rest of the body color, prompting pet lovers to liken the fur of black cat white limbs suit evening, or likened to the limbs as if covered with white socks.
Not only cats, the pigmentation blended with white spots are present in other animals, such as pigs, deer, horses, dogs, guinea pigs and birds, and in rare cases in humans, but it is especially evident in cats.
Scientists call this phenomenon "piebaldism," the result of a mutation in the KIT gene, which leads to the random distribution of melanocytes, which give eyes, skin, hair and fur color.
During the formation of cats in the embryonic stage, all available melanocytes are combined in the part where the spine will be formed later. As embryos develop into kittens, melanocytes spread throughout the body. If melanocytes are distributed uniformly, the cat becomes a monochromatic cat, such as Hello Kitty, but in many cases, the distribution is irregular, such as the Sylvester cat from the animated series Tweety, with its belly, white limbs, and black back.
The mechanism governing the distribution and assembly of melanocytes has been the subject of debate. It has long been thought that it is simply that cells are not distributed at the appropriate rate to cover the entire animal body until a recent study published in the journal Nature Communications suggests a mathematical model of melanocytes. They report that these cells do not divide sufficiently in animals characterized by the phenomenon of shine, leaving the creature in development without enough biological material to have uniform fur.
Shining is not the only exotic genetic feature that may alter the coloration of animal fur.
For example, responsible for the appearance of the distinctive veiled cats according to UC Davis Veterinary Research Laboratory is the gene called «Agouti gene», which determines the way the distribution of black pigment, gives the same gene colors «horse chestnut» which has a red-brown body, But his tail and tail are black.
Norwegian forest cat has two notable mutations. The orange gene on the X chromosome is capable of producing red fur in many cats, while an amendment to the MC1R gene appears to be qualitative for this strain. Thus, these cats are born in one color but evolve so that their fur has a degree of golden or amber color. Siamese and Burmese cats have a pattern of heat-based selective albinism that allows them to reduce melanin production, with the help of the enzyme tyrosinase, which is responsible for the color of graded Siamese cats, with a belly-colored sand (warmest area of the body), which darkens at the extremities, including It has ear tips and claws.
Finally, after learning the role of genetics in the distribution of colors in cats, should the next famous cat be named after Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics?
Post a Comment