Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Reconciling diverse mammalian pigmentation patterns with a fundamental mathematical model
AU - Mort, Richard L.
AU - Ross, Robert J. H.
AU - Hainey, Kirsten J.
AU - Harrison, Olivia J.
AU - Keighren, Margaret A.
AU - Landini, Gabriel
AU - Baker, Ruth E.
AU - Painter, Kevin J.
AU - Jackson, Ian J.
AU - Yates, Christian A.
PY - 2016/1/6
Y1 - 2016/1/6
N2 - Bands of colour extending laterally from the dorsal to ventral trunk are a common feature of mouse chimeras. These stripes were originally taken as evidence of the directed dorsoventral migration of melanoblasts (the embryonic precursors of melanocytes) as they colonize the developing skin. Depigmented 'belly spots' in mice with mutations in the receptor tyrosine kinase Kit are thought to represent a failure of this colonization, either due to impaired migration or proliferation. Tracing of single melanoblast clones, however, has revealed a diffuse distribution with high levels of axial mixing--hard to reconcile with directed migration. Here we construct an agent-based stochastic model calibrated by experimental measurements to investigate the formation of diffuse clones, chimeric stripes and belly spots. Our observations indicate that melanoblast colonization likely proceeds through a process of undirected migration, proliferation and tissue expansion, and that reduced proliferation is the cause of the belly spots in Kit mutants.
AB - Bands of colour extending laterally from the dorsal to ventral trunk are a common feature of mouse chimeras. These stripes were originally taken as evidence of the directed dorsoventral migration of melanoblasts (the embryonic precursors of melanocytes) as they colonize the developing skin. Depigmented 'belly spots' in mice with mutations in the receptor tyrosine kinase Kit are thought to represent a failure of this colonization, either due to impaired migration or proliferation. Tracing of single melanoblast clones, however, has revealed a diffuse distribution with high levels of axial mixing--hard to reconcile with directed migration. Here we construct an agent-based stochastic model calibrated by experimental measurements to investigate the formation of diffuse clones, chimeric stripes and belly spots. Our observations indicate that melanoblast colonization likely proceeds through a process of undirected migration, proliferation and tissue expansion, and that reduced proliferation is the cause of the belly spots in Kit mutants.
KW - Animals
KW - Embryo, Mammalian
KW - Mice
KW - Models, Biological
KW - Pigments, Biological
KW - Skin
KW - Tissue Culture Techniques
KW - Journal Article
KW - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
U2 - 10.1038/ncomms10288
DO - 10.1038/ncomms10288
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 26732977
VL - 7
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
SN - 2041-1723
M1 - 10288
ER -