AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -In a study published this week in Nature Communications, scientists report that the genes that set up the tabby pattern are activated in an embryo’s skin cells before the cat’s fur develops. The early skin cells even mimic tabby stripes under the microscope, a discovery never seen before in embryonic cells.

Detailed explanation-2: -All domestic cats are descended from a wild ancestor (probably either Felis silvestris or Felis lybica) a mackerel tabby patterned animal; all domestic cats have an underlying genetic tabby pattern, even if they are solid coloured.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Tabby gene on chromosome A1 accounts for most tabby patterns seen in domestic cats, including those patterns seen in most breeds. The dominant allele TaM produces mackerel tabbies, and the recessive Tab produce classic (sometimes referred to as blotched) tabbies.

Detailed explanation-4: -The regions, she said, “mimic what’s going on in the adult cat pigmentation patterns.” The same patterns that will appear in an adult cat’s coat as stripes or blotches appear first in the embryo before there is any hair or even hair follicles.