Genes Associated with Hair, Eye, and Skin Pigmentation

Human skin pigmentation tends to be lighter the farther a population lives from the equator. People of European ancestry have the most variation in eye and hair color, while other human populations primarily have brown eyes and black hair. The likely evolutionary explanation for lighter skin pigmentation in northern latitudes is that it facilitates the synthesis of vitamin D₃. The lighter skin color predisposes, of course, to sunburns. The genetic basis of normal human pigmentation has been largely unknown.

Geneticists in Iceland performed a genome-wide association scan using single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped in nearly 3000 Icelanders to identify genetic variants associated with hair and eye pigmentation, skin sensitivity to s…