Premium
A distinctive pigment of the skin in New Guinea indigenes
Author(s) -
WALSH R. J.
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
annals of human genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.537
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1469-1809
pISSN - 0003-4800
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-1809.1971.tb00250.x
Subject(s) - pigment , melanin , new guinea , pedigree chart , biology , metabolite , skin color , skin biopsy , skin colour , gene , biopsy , genetics , evolutionary biology , biochemistry , pathology , chemistry , medicine , history , ethnology , organic chemistry , artificial intelligence , computer science
SUMMARY An unusual pigmentation of skin is described amongst indigenes of widely scattered areas in New Guinea. It is suggested that it is due to the accumulation of a red intermediary metabolite in the formation of melanin, and that it results from a metabolic error determined by an autosomal recessive gene. Pedigrees of thirty‐three families with red skins are presented and analysed. The pigment could not be identified by histochemical studies of biopsy specimens and a portable reflectance spectrophotometer did not define its characteristics. The gene is present in high frequency in some areas in which it must possess a significant survival advantage.