Distribution of an allele associated with blond hair color across Northern Island Melanesia.

Pigmentation of the skin, hair, and eyes is a complex trait controlled by multiple genetic loci. Recently a non-synonymous mutation in the pigmentation candidate gene TYRP1 was shown to be significantly associated with a blond-hair phenotype in populations from the Solomon Islands. The distribution of this mutation in the islands of Northern Island Melanesia, where the blondism phenotype is also prevalent, was unknown.