Ian J. Jackson is at the MRC Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK. ian.jackson@hgu.mrc.ac.uk
Several mutant strains of mice have dark skin pigmentation due to an aberrant accumulation of pigment-producing melanocytes in the dermal layer of the skin. A new study shows that three such strains carry activating mutations in the genes encoding the G-protein subunits Gq or G11, resulting in more pigment cell precursors and an excess of dermally retained pigment cells at birth.
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