Nature Communications (Jan 2016)

Reconciling diverse mammalian pigmentation patterns with a fundamental mathematical model

  • Richard L. Mort,
  • Robert J. H. Ross,
  • Kirsten J. Hainey,
  • Olivia J. Harrison,
  • Margaret A. Keighren,
  • Gabriel Landini,
  • Ruth E. Baker,
  • Kevin J. Painter,
  • Ian J. Jackson,
  • Christian A. Yates

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10288
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 1
pp. 1 – 13

Abstract

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How embryonic melanoblast behaviour influences adult pigmentation patterns and causes patterning defects is unclear. Here, Mort et al. construct a stochastic model parameterised experimentally to show that melanoblast migration is undirected and that reduced proliferation causes patterning defects.