Study
Developmental genetics of color pattern establishment in cats
Kaelin, C. B.; McGowan, K. A.; Barsh, G. S.
Nature Communications, 2021
Embryonic cat skin was examined at successive stages, before hair follicles form, using single-cell expression analysis to look for the earliest sign of a pattern.
- Studied in
- Felis catus
- Sample size
- feline embryos examined across developmental stages
The pattern appears in the embryo as thickened and thinned regions of skin long before there is any pigment or any hair, and the gene Dkk4 marks the future dark areas. The map is drawn first; the colour arrives later.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Colour pattern in cats is established by an early, pigment-independent pre-pattern in embryonic skin, consistent with a reaction–diffusion-like mechanism.
How NatureHQ reads it
This settles the timing question the 2012 paper left open. The stripe exists before the animal has any hair to be striped, which is a genuinely surprising fact and a much better one than the version in circulation. It also explains the uniqueness that camera-trap work depends on: a developmental process of this kind produces a reliably tiger-shaped pattern that is never twice the same in detail.
- Domestic cats; extended to tigers by homology, not by direct observation.
- Identifies where the pattern is specified, not the full molecular chain from pre-pattern to hair colour.
- Embryonic material is difficult to obtain and the stage series is necessarily incomplete.
Looking for a stripe in an animal that has no hair yet
When does a cat’s pattern first exist — and does it exist before the fur does?
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Nature PortfolioPublished in a Nature Portfolio journal.
doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25348-2
This reference was resolved automatically against Crossref on 2026-08-11.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-11.