Poole T W
J Exp Zool. 1982 Mar 1;220(1):57-64. doi: 10.1002/jez.1402200108.
The alleles at the agouti locus in the mouse determine whether eumelanin or pheomelanin is synthesized by the follicular melanocytes. The agouti suppressor (As) mutation, which is closely linked to the agouti locus, reduces the amount of pheomelanin produced by whatever agouti alleles are present in the animal's genome. Previous developmental studies have indicated that the agouti alleles exert their influence on the follicular melanocytes via interactions between the developing dermis and epidermis. Using the techniques of dermal-epidermal recombination of embryonic agouti suppressor (AsAw/AsAw), white-bellied agouti (Aw/Aw), yellow (Ay/a), viable yellow (Avy/Avy), black and tan (at/at), and nonagouti (a/a) mouse skin, the present study demonstrates that 1) the dermis is responsible for the development of regional pigmentation patterns in white-bellied agouti mice, and 2) the agouti suppressor mutation interferes with the expression of the white-bellied agouti allele by acting on the dermis as well as the epidermis. In addition, this study provides further evidence for the role of the epidermis in the expression of the agouti locus alleles.
小鼠中刺鼠基因座的等位基因决定了毛囊黑素细胞合成真黑素还是褐黑素。与刺鼠基因座紧密连锁的刺鼠抑制基因（As）突变，会减少动物基因组中无论存在何种刺鼠等位基因所产生的褐黑素量。先前的发育研究表明，刺鼠等位基因通过发育中的真皮和表皮之间的相互作用对毛囊黑素细胞产生影响。利用胚胎刺鼠抑制基因（AsAw/AsAw）、白腹刺鼠（Aw/Aw）、黄色（Ay/a）、存活黄色（Avy/Avy）、黑褐相间（at/at）和非刺鼠（a/a）小鼠皮肤进行真皮 - 表皮重组技术，本研究表明：1）真皮负责白腹刺鼠小鼠区域色素沉着模式的形成；2）刺鼠抑制基因突变通过作用于真皮和表皮来干扰白腹刺鼠等位基因的表达。此外，本研究为表皮在刺鼠基因座等位基因表达中的作用提供了进一步的证据。
