knabe
Well-known member
http://www.nature.com/nmiddleeast/2012/120417/full/nmiddleeast.2012.56.html
also this.
http://www.nature.com/nmiddleeast/2014/140113/full/nmiddleeast.2014.13.html
A colour pattern in domesticated cattle is caused by a mutational mechanism in which gene fragments are shuttled from one chromosome to another, according to research published in
Nature
Colour sidedness is determined by two genetic variants located respectively on chromosome 29 for Belgian blue and 6 for brown Swiss cows, according DNA sequencing of the genes involved revealed how the variation is generated.
One of the variants is in the LUZP2 gene on chromosome 29. The gene is interrupted by a large fragment of DNA containing the KIT gene, which is excised from chromosome 6.
The other variant is derived from the first one by excision of a fragment DNA containing chromosome 6 and 29 sequences, including a segment of the LUZP2 gene, which is shuttled back to chromosome 6.
The researchers confirmed these findings by analysing DNA from seven other breeds of cattle breeds and domesticated yaks, and found the same variants in all of them, suggesting that the two genes identified probably account for colour sidedness in most, if not all, cattle.
The unusual coat colour pattern is thought to result from dysregulation of the KIT gene, which is known to be critical for the survival and migration of melanocyte cells, which produce the pigment melanin, during embryonic development.
It's still unclear whether the novel serial translocation process identified in the study is unique to cattle. In humans, the mechanism may contribute to the mutations that make cells cancerous, and the researchers have identified a large number of sites in the human genome where this may have occurred.
also this.
http://www.nature.com/nmiddleeast/2014/140113/full/nmiddleeast.2014.13.html
might be time to see if it's in cattle. the middle east human populations are the most defect dense in the world. ripe for dna studies.