For those interested below are 2 links to pics of my Tremper albinos....
A little history on them:
link ending in "before-after.jpg": top gecko is my Tremper albino at 5
months of age. Bottom gecko is TOP GECKO at exactly 1 year of age
link ending in "Tremper-Albinos.jpg": Male Tremper albino (left gecko),
female albino (same gecko in above description).
http://www.geocities.com/lizard_anm/before-after.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/lizard_anm/Tremper-Albinos.jpg
Later,
Chris
----- Original Message -----
From: Tony Gamble <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Beverly Erlebacher <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2001 5:30 PM
Subject: Re[4]: [Gecko] Albino leopards (was:meaning of "hypo")
> Hello Beverly,
>
> Thursday, April 05, 2001, 5:46:25 PM, you wrote:
> BE> If Tremper x Rainwater gives 100% normals, and the two types of albino
> BE> assort independently, they *have* to be mutations of different genes,
> BE> don't they?
>
> No, they could also be different alleles of the same gene, the gene
> for tyrosinase, in this case.
>
> BE> It seems that the amount of brownish pigment expressed in a Tremper
> BE> albino may depend on some environmental factor, possibly temperature
or
> BE> light exposure.
>
> That's a great idea.
> Another possibility, and I think this may be what is happening with the
> Tremper mutation, is a 'leaky' mutation. A 'leaky' mutation, in
> contrast to a 'null' mutation, which would cause no tyrosinase
> activity, could still convert tyrosine to dopaquinone (the main job of
> tyrosinase) but in a reduced capacity. OCA1B, a human form of t+
> albinism, produces tyrosinase that produces dopaquinone (and therefore
> melanin) at 1-10% the rate of 'normal' tyrosinase. This variability
> (which differs in every individual) produces people with virtually no
> melanin to folks that can get a light tan! It's a similar trait that,
> I think, is responsible for 'hypo' cornsnakes. They can be almost
> normal looking to almost amelanistic. The amount of melanin produced
> varies from snake to snake. Sound like the Tremper albinos?
> Imagine a mutation that, when the enzyme folds into it's tertiary
> structure, it's a little different every time (Tremper). Compare this to
an
> mutated enzyme that folds the same way every time, but still operates
> in an inhibited manner (Rainwater). You would have two different alleles,
one that
> produces a variable, leaky tyrosinase molecule and another
> that produces a stable, leaky tyrosinase molecule.
> I'll, hopefully have this worked out in the near future.
> --
> Best regards,
> Tony mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
>
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