The DOI matches its Crossref record; 113 of the 113 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The genetic and evolutionary basis of colour variation in vertebrates
Open accessAbstract
Variation in pigmentation is one of the most conspicuous phenotypic traits in vertebrates. Although mammals show less variation in body pigmentation than other vertebrate groups, the genetics of colour determination and variation is best understood for them. More than 150 genes have been identified that influence pigmentation, and in many cases, the cause for variation in pigmentation has been identified down to the underlying nucleotide changes. These studies show that while some genes are often responsible for deviating pigmentation, similar or almost identical phenotypes even in the same species may be due to mutations in different genes. In this review we will first discuss the current knowledge about the genes and their functions underlying the biochemical pathways that determine pigmentation and then give examples where the mutations responsible for colour variation have been determined. Finally, we will discuss potential evolutionary causes for and consequences of differences in pigmentation between individuals.
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“Assortative mating based on coloration is common in vertebrates (57), and skin pigmentation has been observed as a criterion for endogamy in modern human populations (58, 59).”
From Direct evidence for positive selection of skin, hair, and eye pigmentation in Europeans during the last 5,000 y (2014) · cites this paper as [57]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Hofreiter, M., & Schöneberg, T.
- Affiliations
- University of York (GB)
- Leipzig University (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Hofreiter, Michael
- Venue
- Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences
- Published
- 2010-03-14
- Volume
- 67
- Issue
- 15
- Pages
- 2591-2603
- ISSN
- 1420-682X (ISSN-L)
- 1420-9071
- PMC
- PMC11115542
- OpenAlex
- W1972312173
- Cited by
- 128
- References
- 113
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 12
- FWCI
- 0.74
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (submittedVersion)
- MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › melanin and skin pigmentation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic and phenotypic traits in livestock
- Keywords
- pigmentation, color variation, vertebrates, pigmentation genes, genetic mutations, mammals
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Color, Biological Evolution, Genes, Mutation, Phenotype, Pigmentation, Reproduction, Vertebrates
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