ABSTRACT
The original tabby mutation (sometimes designated Ta) arose in a strain selected for large size fed on a low plane of nutrition. The primary (mystacial) vibrissae are not affected in tabby mice; however, secondary vibrissae (two supraorbital, one postorbital, two postoral, and three interramal) are affected to various degrees. The hair follicle groups in tabby mice developed normally except that no secondary follicles appeared, resulting in a simple pattern of follicle grouping. Dermal-epidermal recombination grafts cultured on the chick chorioallantoic membranes provided no evidence of a primary epidermal effect of the tabby mutation. The tabby mutations have been used to investigate the mechanisms of epidermal growth factor and its potential use for treating patients with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia. These mutations have also been used in mapping studies for other genes on the X Chromosome, studying the mechanisms of oogenesis, and used as a double mutant with the X-linked gene for testicular feminization.
