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Although the animal looks bald, the smooth, warm skin is covered by fine stubble. The vibrissae also appear broken off short. The nails appear normal and the ventral scent gland and nipples are well developed. This female is fertile and has had several litters, but none of her offspring show the mutation. Her parents produced 2 other hairless gerbils in subsequent litters, but these did not survive past 5 weeks. Histological examination revealed marked pathology of hair development, although the number of follicles seemed normal. The thymus was disorganized and sparsely populated with lymphocytes.
Although the animal looks bald, the smooth, warm skin is covered by fine stubble. The vibrissae also appear broken off short. The nails appear normal and the ventral scent gland and nipples are well developed. This female is fertile and has had several litters, but none of her offspring show the mutation. Her parents produced 2 other hairless gerbils in subsequent litters, but these did not survive past 5 weeks. Histological examination revealed marked pathology of hair development, although the number of follicles seemed normal. The thymus was disorganized and sparsely populated with lymphocytes.
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01:16In-vitro Mutagenesis
02:41Lethal Alleles
Lucien Cuénot discovered lethal alleles in 1905 while studying the inheritance of coat color in mice. The agouti gene is responsible for the color of the coat in mice. This gene codes for an agouti-signaling protein, which is responsible for melanin distribution in mammals. The wild-type allele gives rise to gray-brown coat color in mice, while the mutant allele gives rise to yellow coat color. In addition to coat color, the agouti gene is associated with the yellow...