Skin melanocytes: biology and development.

In the human skin, melanocytes are present in the epidermis and hair follicles. The basic features of these cells are the ability to melanin production and the origin from neural crest cells. This last element is important because there are other cells able to produce melanin but of different embryonic origin (pigmented epithelium of retina, some neurons, adipocytes).

[Analysis of mutations in father-son pairs within selected Y-STR loci].

The objective of the study was to examine the mutation rates of Y-chromosomal STR from father-son pairs. The paternity in these cases was confirmed previously with the use of autosomal STR system performing standard analyses of genetic profiles of the mother, child and putative father (PI > = 100000). We examined 200 father-son sample pairs from Northern Poland using the Y-STR 18-plex.