Posted by:
DMong
at Wed Apr 6 11:36:38 2011 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by DMong ]
But rest assured, even with ten pots of coffee, nobody will ever really understand alot about how chromatophores work, there are simply too many different variables and causes of the different phenotypes in both hypomelanism and tyrosinase-plus(albinos).
some other related stuff........
T stands for tyrosinase which contains copper molecules. Tyrosinase is one of the enzymes involved in making the black pigment (melanin) in a snake's skin when it oxidizes with other enzymes within the melanocyte.
A tyrosinase-negative (T-neg) albino snake lacks the black pigment because it lacks tyrosinase.
There are basically three categories of tyrosinase-positive (T-pos) albino snakes:
1. The snake has normal tyrosinase but lacks some other enzyme that is required to convert into melanin.
2. A snake that has less than normal black pigment. The snake has normal tyrosinase but lacks some other enzyme, or even the amount of pigment cells themselves that is required to make the normal amount of melanin. Many different enzymes/proteins are needed to make melanin, so there are many different, unrelated mutant genes that can make these sort of T-positive snake we see in the hobby.
3. A snake that has less than normal black pigment. The snake has abnormal tyrosinase that can make some melanin but not the full amount.
Tyrosinase-positive - An albino animal which is capable of producing tyrosinase, but not melanin. This indicates that there is another mutation in the melanin pathway, causing no melanin to be formed. This is a commonly mis-used term for any form of albino snake that is different in color, i.e. not a t-negative amelanistic only dislaying white. The only way to tell if an animal is tyrosinase-positive is to have a sample tested for enzymatic activity (L-dopa test) to see if the enzyme reacts and oxidizes to form melanin.
As you can see, the term "t-plus" gets commonly tossed around haphazardlyin this hobby all the time for any type of dark coloration that isn't quite normal, but as to what cell dynamics causes all these different looks, or what exactly is responsible can be worlds apart.
Also, where exactly does hypomelanism start and end, or become some type of t-plus??. All we really know is that many of these different phenotypes are not inherently compatible.
In other words, it's all as clear as mud..LOL!
~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing" 
my website -Serpentine Specialties
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me too!..LOL! - DMong, Wed Apr 6 11:36:38 2011