Quote Originally Posted by elevatethis
Whoa! What was that???

Oh yeah, something just flew way over my head.
Albinos by defination dont produce melanin.

Melanin Sythesis is a multi-step metabolic pathway...tryosinase is the enzyme at the beginning of the pathway.

If the other enzymes are defective or regulated improperly melanin sythesis could also be affected....


Xanthophores are one of the three pigment cells in snake skin (we only have one...melanocytes)

The other two in snakes are melanophores and iridophores....see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatophore

Pteridine are pigments in xanthophores..they can be yellow or red.