How do zebrafish develop their stripes?

A Cardiff University mathematician has thrown new light on the longstanding mystery of how zebrafish develop the distinctive striped patterns on their skin. In a new study, Dr Thomas Woolley has simulated the intricate process that sees the pigmented skin cells of the zebrafish engaged in a game of cat and mouse as they chase after each in the early developmental stages before resting to create a final pattern. Dr Woolley discovered that a key factor is the angles at which the cells chase after each other, and these angles can determine whether a zebrafish develops its distinctive stripes, broken stripes, polka-dot patterns or sometimes no pattern at all. The findings have been presented in the journal Physical Review E. Iconic patterns. Rather than have a pattern ingrained in their genetic code, zebrafish start their lives as transparent embryos before developing iconic patterns over time as they grow into adults. As is often the case in nature, many possible mutations exist and this can dictate the pattern that develops in the zebrafish. Several researchers have studied how and why these pattern form and have concluded that it's a result of three types of pigment cells interacting with one other.