Phenotypic rescue of mutant brown melanocytes by a retrovirus carrying a wild-type tyrosinase-related protein gene

A mouse cDNA for the developmentally controlled, melanocyte-specific protein, tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TRP-1), was previously cloned and reported to show genetic linkage with the coat-colour locus brown (b) on mouse chromosome 4. The cDNA has been inserted into a retroviral vector derived from Moloney murine leukaemia virus, under the control of the human histone H4 promoter. This vector was used to infect melanocytes of the immortal line melan-b, which are homozygous for the b mutation and which display light brown pigmentation in culture. Infected cultures containing between 0.2 and 2 copies of provirus per cell displayed an altered phenotype: 20-50 % of cells now had the black to dark brown colour characteristic of cultured wild-type (Black, B/B) mouse melanocytes. Thus the TRP-1 gene complements the brown mutation. We conclude that TRP-1 is the product of the wild-type-b-locus.