ArticleNature genetics2001
Mutations in the gene encoding B, a novel transporter protein, reduce melanin content in medaka.
Article in Nature genetics, 2001. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 68 papers.
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Who cites it
68 citing papers in PubMed, 248 citations in OpenAlex.
- The SLC-ome of membrane transport: from molecular discovery to physiology and clinical applications.Physiological reviews · 2026Review
- A Simple Method for RNA-Seq of Manually Isolated Chromatophores in Oryzias Fishes.Development, growth & differentiation · 2026Article
- Genomic consequences of domestication and the diversification of body coloration and morphology in ornamental medaka strains.Molecular biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Eye pigmentation-based in-ovo chicken sexing via precision breeding.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Article
- Two High-QualityInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- A frame-shift mutation in COMTD1 is associated with impaired pheomelanin pigmentation in chicken.PLoS genetics · 2023Article
- The genetic basis and potential molecular mechanism of yellow-albino northern snakehead (Open biology · 2023Article
- The swan genome and transcriptome, it is not all black and white.Genome biology · 2023Article
- Individual identification of inbred medaka based on characteristic melanophore spot patterns on the head.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- A community-science approach identifies genetic variants associated with three color morphs in ball pythons (Python regius).PloS one · 2022Article
- Chemical and biochemical control of skin pigmentation with special emphasis on mixed melanogenesis.Pigment cell & melanoma research · 2021Review
- Membrane transport proteins in melanosomes: Regulation of ions for pigmentation.Biochimica et biophysica acta. Biomembranes · 2020Review
- SLC45A2 protein stability and regulation of melanosome pH determine melanocyte pigmentation.Molecular biology of the cell · 2020Article
- ITRAQ Proteomic Analysis of Yellow and Black Skin in Jinbian Carp (Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Insights into the Evolution of Neoteny from the Genome of the Asian Icefish Protosalanx chinensis.iScience · 2020Article
- Identification ofG3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2020Article
- Mutational Analysis of TYR, OCA2, and SLC45A2 Genes in Chinese Families with Oculocutaneous Albinism.Molecular genetics & genomic medicine · 2019Article
- Evolutionary history of the medaka long-wavelength sensitive genes and effects of artificial regression by gene loss on behavioural photosensitivity.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Adaptation of human skin color in various populations.Hereditas · 2018Review
8 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Pigmentation of the skin is of great social, clinical and cosmetic significance. Several genes that, when mutated, give rise to altered coat color in mice have been identified; their analysis has provided some insight into melanogenesis and human pigmentation diseases. Such analyses do not, however, fully inform on the pigmentation of lower vertebrates because mammals have only one kind of chromatophore, the melanocyte. In contrast, the medaka (a small, freshwater teleost) is a suitable model of the lower vertebrates because it has all kinds of chromatophores. The basic molecular genetics of fish are known and approximately 70 spontaneous pigmentation mutants have been isolated. One of these, an orange-red variant, is a homozygote of a well-known and common allele, b, and has been bred for hundreds of years by the Japanese. Here, we report the first successful positional cloning of a medaka gene (AIM1): one that encodes a transporter that mediates melanin synthesis. The protein is predicted to consist of 12 transmembrane domains and is 55% identical to a human EST of unknown function isolated from melanocytes and melanoma cells. We also isolated a highly homologous gene from the mouse, indicating a conserved function of vertebrate melanogenesis. Intriguingly, these proteins have sequence and structural similarities to plant sucrose transporters, suggesting a relevance of sucrose in melanin synthesis. Analysis of AIM1 orthologs should provide new insights into the regulation of melanogenesis in both teleosts and mammals.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.