Why Are People All Different Colors?

People can have different skin colors from yellow to red, from white to black. The type and amount of melanin pigment in the skin that determines the skin color.

Melanin is the pigment that gives color to our skin, eyes, and hair and is produced by melanocyte cells located in the epidermis layer of the skin. There are two types of melanin pigment on the skin. Of these pigments, eumelanin gives the skin brown-black and pheomelanin yellow-red. While the production of eumelanin is higher in the skin of people with dark skin, the skin of people with high pheomelanin production is light. In addition to the type of pigment, the amount of pigment is also one of the factors that determine the skin color. The low amount of pigment and the number of melanocyte cells causes the skin color to be light.

The type and amount of pigments that color our skin are determined by genes. One of these genes, the MC1R gene, determines the type and amount of melanin pigment secreted by melanocyte cells, as well as transforming the pheomelanin pigment into eumelanin pigment. The kit ligand (KITLG) gene has a key role in the development of melanocyte cells. One of the reasons for the color difference between Africans, Europeans and East Asians is thought to be the KITLG gene.

One of the genes that can be effective in people having different skin colors is SLC24A5. Comparing zebra fish with dark lines and zebra fish with bright yellow lines, scientists determined that the mutation in the SLC24A5 gene may be the cause of this difference. Studies show that European Americans have a mutated form of this gene. However, the effect of this gene on skin color is not exactly known.