The Colors of Mice

Serving the needs of pigment cell biologists, cellular physiologists, developmental geneticists, researchers interested in melanoma and more, this new book showcases a blend of new technologies and new insights in the field of pigmantary genetics of mice, with comparative information on other animals. Graduate students can learn here the terminology and scope of the field, and animal fanciers can discover the genetics behind common color variants of mammals. The book is hailed for being written by four of the premier scientists in the field. These authors aim to present the molecular /cellular work in the context of phenotype and the interacting functions of genes that direct the development and function of one biological system. For other researchers, the depth of genetic knowledge on the pigmantary system makes it a valuable model for the study of other systems.

Serving the needs of pigment cell biologists, cellular physiologists, developmental geneticists, researchers interested in melanoma and more, this new book showcases a blend of new technologies and new insights in the field of pigmantary genetics of mice, with comparative information on other animals. Graduate students can learn here the terminology and scope of the field, and animal fanciers can discover the genetics behind common color variants of mammals. The book is hailed for being written by four of the premier scientists in the field. These authors aim to present the molecular /cellular work in the context of phenotype and the interacting functions of genes that direct the development and function of one biological system. For other researchers, the depth of genetic knowledge on the pigmantary system makes it a valuable model for the study of other systems.

Preface.Acknowledgments.Statement regarding the use of pictures.Statement regarding nomenclature.Part I: Introduction to the Pigmentary System.1. Introduction to the Pigmentary System.1.1. Introduction.1.2. Colors of vertebrate animals.1.3. Other pigment cells.1.4. The epidermal melanin unit.1.5. Mammalian hair.1.6. Melanosome biogenesis and translocation.1.7. Melanin.1.8. Hair growth.1.9. Hair growth cycles.1.10. Embryonic development of the pigment cell lineage.1.11. Pigment cells in culture.1.12. Conclusion.Appendix: color loci of the mouse.Part II: The Pigmentary Loci.2. Introduction to Mutant Pigmentary Genes.2.1. Defects of normal melanocyte development: white spottingand graying with age.2.2. Defects in normal melanosome development: albinism.2.3. Transport of melanosomes to other cells: the'dilute' phenotype.2.4. Pigment-type switching: from eumelanogenesis topheomelanogenesis.3. White Spotting and Progressive Graying.3.1. Definitions and general background .3.2. Pigment cell development: developmental biology.3.3. Cellular signaling pathways for melanocytes.3.4. Pigment phenotypes and the classical white-spottinggenes.3.5. The head, heart, ears, and eyes.4. 'Albinism' and the Failure of NormalMelanosome Development.4.1. Background.4.2. The melanosomal matrix.4.3. The enzymes that catalyze melanogenesis.4.4. Membrane proteins that regulate the internal milieu of themelanosome.4.5. Protein processing and routing to the maturingmelanosome.4.6. Melanosome transport.5. Pigment-Type Switching.5.1. Introduction.5.2. Yellow phenotypes.5.3. Melanin pigment .5.4. Melanogenesis and the eumelanin/pheomelanin switchmechanism.5.5. Signaling the switch mechanism at the cellular level.5.6. Yellow genes.Part III: Technology and Resources.6. Novel Mouse Pigmentary Mutants Generated by GeneticManipulation.6.1. Introduction.6.2. Mouse transgenesis: generation of genetically engineeredmice.6.3. Coat-color transgenic mice.6.4. The coat-color mutants generated by gene targeting.6.5. Influence of the genetic background.6.6. Conclusions.7. Other Species and Other Resources.7.1. Introduction.7.2. Resources.7.3. Other species.References.Index.