Foxes are born with white tummies.
I dunno what could be happening there except her tan is probably getting worse as she gets older.
W xx
I dunno what could be happening there except her tan is probably getting worse as she gets older.
W xx
This strange link between coat color and temperament stems from a relationship between pigment production, hormones, and neurochemistry. It is not the case that coat color causes a difference in temperament, but rather that certain physiological processes underlie facets of both coat color and behavior. In particular, the hormones and neurotransmitters involved in the stress response and other behaviors are closely integrated with pigment production.
For example, the neurotransmitter dopamine and the hormones noradrenaline and adrenaline, which are involved in the stress response, have the same biochemical precursor as the melanin pigments (Anonymous 1971, Ferry and Zimmerman 1964). In addition, dopamine directly influences pigment production by binding to the pigment-producing cells (Burchill et al. 1986). Dopamine indirectly influences pigment production by inhibiting pituitary melanotropin, also known as melanocyte stimulating hormone (MSH), which is responsible for stimulating pigment cells to produce pigment (Tilders and Smelik 1978).
Pigment cells are found in the skin and at the base of hairs, where they produce pigment that colors the fur. But pigment cells and pigments aren't just found in the skin, they're also found in the brain, including brain regions related to mood and stress.
During development, pigment calls start out at the back (in an area called the neural crest) and migrate to the rest of the body (Gilbert 1994). Anything that affects the distribution of pigment cells in the body affects not only the hair color, but mood and stress as well. The hooded gene of the Norway rat (Wendt-Wagener 1961) and the star gene of silver foxes (Praslova 1993) are examples of genes that delay the migration of pigment cells from the back to the rest of the body.
Cell migration isn't the only connection between depigmentation and the stress response. The pigment melanin also shares a metabolic pathway with stress hormones like adrenaline (called catecholamines): they from the same precursor, tyrosine (Nagatsu et al. 1964).