Leukocyte Tyrosine Kinase ( Ltk ) Is the Mendelian Determinant of the Axolotl Melanoid Color Variant.

The great diversity of color patterns observed among amphibians is largely explained by the differentiation of relatively few pigment cell types during development. Mexican axolotls present a variety of color phenotypes that span the continuum from leucistic to highly melanistic. The axolotl is a Mendelian variant characterized by large numbers of melanophores, proportionally fewer xanthophores, and no iridophores. Early studies of were influential in developing the single-origin hypothesis of pigment cell development, wherein it has been proposed that all three pigment cell types derive from a common progenitor cell, with pigment metabolites playing potential roles in directing the development of organelles that define different pigment cell types. Specifically, these studies identified xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) activity as a mechanism for the permissive differentiation of melanophores at the expense of xanthophores and iridophores. We used bulked segregant RNA-Seq to screen the axolotl genome for candidate genes and identify the associated locus. Dissimilar frequencies of single-nucleotide polymorphisms were identified between pooled RNA samples of wild-type and siblings for a region on chromosome 14q. This region contains (), an enzyme that catalyzes the synthesis of the molybdenum cofactor that is required for XDH activity, and (), a cell surface signaling receptor that is required for iridophore differentiation in zebrafish. Wild-type crispants present similar pigment phenotypes to , strongly implicating as the locus. In concert with recent findings in zebrafish, our results support the idea of direct fate specification of pigment cells and, more generally, the single-origin hypothesis of pigment cell development.