›› 2019, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (1): 72-79.doi: 10.16431/j.cnki.1671-7236.2019.01.009

• Physiology and Biochemistry • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Research Advances on the Formation Mechanism of Animal Melanocytes and Its Related Traits

XIONG Heli1,2, XI Dongmei1, LI Guozhi1, WANG Liping1, LIU Xiangying1, YUAN Mengya1, LI Jing1,3, DENG Weidong1   

  1. 1. Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming 650201, China;
    2. Yunnan Animal Science and Veterinary Institute, Kunming 650224, China;
    3. Kunming Police Dog Base of Ministry of Public Security, Kunming 650201, China
  • Received:2018-06-13 Online:2019-01-20 Published:2019-01-19

Abstract:

Melanocytes are melanin-producing cells that are differentiated from their precursor melanoblasts.Melanoblasts are formed in two migration pathways in embryonic stage.The first is dorsolateral pathway which neural crests take when they are specified as melanoblasts,the second is ventral pathway where Schwann cell precursors (SCPs),a sub-cellular neural stem cell,are formed,and induced to differentiate into melanoblasts,and melanoblasts from SCP are the major source melanocytes in the skin.The formation of melanocytes is closely related to animal hair color and other important economic traits,and the increase or decrease of melanocyte formation,ectopic formation or ectopic invasion may lead to the corresponding disease,but Silky fowl,a vertebrate which has typical ectopic melanocytes is healthy,and is an economic breed for food and medicinal usage.Exploring the formation mechanism of melanocytes and its influencing factors,as well as the ectopic formation of melanocytes not only provides informative theoretical basis for the breeding of animal economic traits but also provides a very important theoretical basis for the treatment of related diseases.This paper would explore the cell origin of melanocyte and the factors affecting the melanocytes formation from different origin,and discuss the formation mechanism of melanocyte-related traits,especially the black characteristics of Silky fowl.

Key words: melanocytes; formation; Schwann cell precursors (SCPs); ectopic formation

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