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Updated: Nov 20, 2025

CUBIC Protocol Visualizes Protein Expression at Single Cell Resolution in Whole Mount Skin Preparations
Published on: August 4, 2016
Genome-wide signatures of mammalian skin covering evolution
Peng Cao1, Qinlong Dai2,3, Cao Deng4
1Key Laboratory of Drug Targets and Drug Leads for Degenerative Diseases, Affiliated Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210023, China. pcao79@yahoo.com.
Abstract:
Animal body coverings provide protection and allow for adaptation to environmental pressures such as heat, ultraviolet radiation, water loss, and mechanical forces. Here, using a comparative genomics analysis of 39 mammal species spanning three skin covering types (hairless, scaly and spiny), we found some genes (e.g., UVRAG, POLH, and XPC) involved in skin inflammation, skin innate immunity, and ultraviolet radiation damage repair were under selection in hairless ocean mammals (e.g., whales and manatees). These signatures might be associated with a high risk of skin diseases from pathogens and ultraviolet radiation. Moreover, the genomes from three spiny mammal species shared convergent genomic regions (EPHB2, EPHA4, and NIN) and unique positively selected genes (FZD6, INVS, and CDC42) involved in skin cell polarity, which might be related to the development of spines. In scaly mammals, the shared convergent genomic regions (e.g., FREM2) were associated with the integrity of the skin epithelium and epidermal adhesion. This study identifies potential convergent genomic features among distantly related mammals with the same skin covering type.
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