不管它是一种祝福或是一种诅咒，无毛品种的犬肯定会在群体中引人注目。它们在古代甚至被阿兹台克人视作是神圣的动物，而这些犬的雕像可以追溯到公元前1700 年。如今，它们的DNA 正帮助研究人员能够更好地理解发育生物学的各个方面。
在本期的Science中， Cord Drögemüller 及其同僚找到了引起“无毛”特性的基因，该基因不但与毛发稀疏（或缺如）有关，而且还与牙齿异常有关。研究人员对中国冠毛犬以及墨西哥和秘鲁的无毛犬品种进行了研究并找到了一个被称作FOXI3 的公认的转录因子基因中的涉嫌突变。他们发现，在小鼠的胚胎中，FOXI3基因表达在那些产生出毛、须和牙齿的组织中，这与该基因在这些器官中的发育所起的作用是一致的。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
Science 12 September 2008:Vol. 321. no. 5895, p. 1462 DOI: 10.1126/science.1162525
Mutations in a transcription factor gene involved in ectodermal development cause a lack of hair and abnormal teeth in Chinese Crested, Mexican, and Peruvian hairless dogs.
Cord Drögemüller, Elinor K. Karlsson, Marjo K. Hytönen, Michele Perloski, Gaudenz Dolf, Kirsi Sainio, Hannes Lohi, Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, and Tosso Leeb
Mexican and Peruvian hairless dogs and Chinese crested dogs are characterized by missing hair and teeth, a phenotype termed canine ectodermal dysplasia (CED). CED is inherited as a monogenic autosomal semidominant trait. With genomewide association analysis we mapped the CED mutation to a 102–kilo–base pair interval on chromosome 17. The associated interval contains a previously uncharacterized member of the forkhead box transcription factor family (FOXI3), which is specifically expressed in developing hair and teeth. Mutation analysis revealed a frameshift mutation within the FOXI3 coding sequence in hairless dogs. Thus, we have identified FOXI3 as a regulator of ectodermal development.
