Mechanism of Pseudoalbinism in Flatfish: An Association Between Pigment Cell and Skin Differentiation

Two groups of flounder P. olivaceus larvae were reared under different conditions to provide either normally pigmented or pseudoalbinic metamorphosed juveniles. The process of the differentiation of skin and pigment cells during postembryonic development was analyzed by means of histological, histochemical and immunofluorescent assay methods. In parallel with these assays, the differentiation of pigment cells was examined with the use of organ and cell culture in vitro. The results obtained strongly suggested that pseudoalbinism was evoked as a result of disruption of the mechanisms that controlled the establishment of asymmetric skin structures during metamorphosis.