| General Note | Tyrc, albino. This very old mutant was already known in Greek and Roman times. Hair and eyes are completely devoid of pigment (J:5436, J:5001, J:30725). The albino mutation affects the amount of tyrosinase, and thus of melanin, in pigment cells, but does not interfere with the production of pigment cells themselves (J:12173, J:13092). Melanocytes with melanosomes showing normal fine structure occur in the retina and hair follicles. Pigment granules are smaller and fewer than normal and completely lack melanin (J:5346, J:5001, J:30725). Tyrosinase is almost absent (J:12173).Although Tyr is the structural gene for tyrosinase, some albino mutations may affect tyrosinase enzyme regulation rather than structure (J:6611), suggesting that these mutations affect tyrosinase inhibition (J:5346), presumably via control regions of the gene. All the mutant alleles are recessive to wild-type in phenotype, but heterozygotes with wild-type produce intermediate amounts of tyrosinase (J:12173).Albino-locus mutants with lightly pigmented eyes have a reduced number of fibers of the optic nerve going to the ipsilateral lateral geniculate nucleus of the brain. This is probably a secondary effect of reduced tyrosinase activity or amount of pigment in the pigment epithelium, since genes at other loci that reduce eye pigmentation also cause the same anomaly (J:5436, J:6064).Abnormal retinal pathways disrupted at the optic chiasm that occur in albinism can be corrected with a Tyr normal transgene (J:22320).Lipofuscin is a terminal oxidation product pigment that accumulates with age. In a cross of C57BL/6J and BALB/cJ, which differ in cardiac deposition of the pigment, this trait segregated with albinism, and is controlled by the Tyr locus (J:15460).Tyrc homozygotes do not perform as well as normal in a number of behavioral tests. It is likely that this effect is mediated, at least in part, by defective vision resulting from lack of retinal pigment (J:5470, J:5360, J:5378). |
