Snakes and mice don’t look alike. But much of what we know about skin coloration and patterning in vertebrates generally, including in snakes, is based on lab mice. However, there are limits to what mice can tell us about other vertebrates because they don’t share all of the same types of color-producing cells, known as chromatophores. To gain a better understanding of the genetic basis of colouration in vertebrates, a research team combined a range of techniques (whole gene sequencing, gene-editing, and electron microscopy) to look more closely at color variations and patterning in the skin shed by ball pythons bred in captivity. They were able to identify a particular gene that plays a crucial role in reptile pigmentation generally and more specifically in a classic colour variant found across vertebrates and distinguished by blotches of white, the piebald.
A new understanding of reptile coloration
0