Pigmentation Patterns and Tbx15 in Other Mammals
The lateral somitic frontier, defined as the lineage boundary between somite-derived versus lateral plate-derived mesoderm, is established during somitogenesis early in development (Mauger 1972; Christ et al. 1983; Olivera-Martinez et al. 2000; Nowicki et al. 2003), but remains distinct in postnatal animals despite the potential for extensive cell mixing (see Figure 8). However, our transplantation and fate-mapping studies demonstrate that the lateral somitic frontier lies dorsal to the pigmentation boundary and does not obviously correlate with a difference in skin morphology. An additional dorsoventral domain that is not externally apparent has emerged from studies of Msx1, whose expression marks a subgroup of somite-derived mesenchymal cells that contribute to dermis in a narrow stripe along the paraspinal region (Houzelstein et al. 2000). Thus, there exist at least three distinct boundaries in postnatal mammalian skin that are parallel to the sagittal plane, marked by differences in pigment-type synthesis, differences in cell lineage, and differences in expression of Msx1.
In rodents, only the pigmentation boundary is evident externally, but many mammals have more complicated patterns of hair type, length, and/or color that vary along the dorsoventral axis. Raccoons, squirrels, skunks, and many different ungulates exhibit lateral stripes whose developmental origins have not been investigated, but may correspond to the lateral somitic frontier, the paraspinal Msx1 compartment, or an interaction between these domains.
The effect of Tbx15 on pigmentation in laboratory mice is reminiscent of coat-color patterns in both selected and natural populations of other mammals. Saddle markings are common in some dog breeds, such as German shepherds, and in certain populations of Peromyscus polionotus, in which a dorsal extension of ventral depigmentation provides an adaptive advantage to subspecies that live on white sand reefs (Blair 1951; Kaufman 1974; Belk and Smith 1996). Neither German shepherds nor deer mice have craniofacial characteristics similar to the deH mutation, but the pigmentation patterns in these animals could represent alterations in the regulation or action of Tbx15 activity. From the opposite perspective, the effects of Tbx15 on coat color are only apparent in certain genetic backgrounds and may not be evident at all in mammals that lack dorsoventral pigmentation patterns. Studying the sequence and expression of Tbx15 in other vertebrates may provide additional insight into patterns that affect the skeleton as well as the pigmentary system.