To determine whether and how common polymorphisms are associated with natural
distributions of iris colors, we surveyed 851 individuals of mainly European descent at 335 …

Little is known about how molecular motors bind to their vesicular cargo. Here we show that
myosin-Va, an actin-based vesicle motor, binds to one of its cargoes, the melanosome, by …

Griscelli disease (OMIM 214450) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by
pigmentary dilution, variable cellular immunodeficiency and onset of acute phases of …

Unlike wild-type mouse melanocytes, where melanosomes are concentrated in dendrites
and dendritic tips, melanosomes in dilute (myosin Va−) melanocytes are concentrated in the …

HUNDREDS of murine dilute mutations have been identified and analysed, making dilute
one of the best genetically characterized of all mammalian loci. The recessive dilute (d) coat …

In experimental organisms such as fruit flies and mice, increased frequencies in germ cell
mutations have been detected following exposure to ionizing radiation. In contrast, there has …

Extension of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) into dendritic spines of Purkinje neurons is
required for cerebellar synaptic plasticity and is disrupted in animals with null mutations in …

Mice with mutations at the dilute locus exhibit a 'washed out'or 'diluted'coat color. The
pigments that are responsible for the coloration of mammalian hair are produced by …

The GTPase Rab27A interacts with myosin-VIIa and myosin-Va via MyRIP or melanophilin
and mediates melanosome binding to actin. Here we show that Rab27A and MyRIP are …

Melanocytes that lack the GTPase Rab27a (ashen) are disabled in myosin Va-dependent
melanosome capture because the association of the myosin with the melanosome surface …