PUBLICATION
A golden clue to human skin colour variation
- Authors
- Muller, J., and Kelsh, R.N.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-060526-3
- Date
- 2006
- Source
- BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology 28(6): 578-582 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Kelsh, Robert, Mueller, Jeanette
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Color
- Humans
- Melanocytes/metabolism
- Models, Genetic
- Skin/metabolism
- Skin Pigmentation/physiology*
- PubMed
- 16700060 Full text @ Bioessays
Citation
Muller, J., and Kelsh, R.N. (2006) A golden clue to human skin colour variation. BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology. 28(6):578-582.
Abstract
Variations in human skin pigmentation are obvious, but how have skin colour differences evolved? Although clearly a polymorphic trait, the number and identity of key variants has remained unclear. Investigation of pigmentation phenotypes in model organisms provides a route to identify these genes and showed MC1R to be one key locus. Now, cloning of a classic zebrafish mutant, golden, identifies slc24a5 as a gene involved in fish skin pigmentation.1 Strikingly this study identifies the human orthologue, SLC24A5, as likely to make a major contribution to the pale skin colouration of Western Europeans.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping