MELANOGENESIS - AN AUTORADIOGRAPHIC STUDY AT THE ULTRASTRUCTURAL LEVEL

[摘要] Tritiated tyrosine and dopa were used to follow the synthesis and fate of the precursors and-end products involved in melanogenesis. Autoradiographs were analyzed in the electron microscope. The data presented strongly suggest that melanin synthesis is initiated in the endoplasmic reticulum rather than in the melanosome. Also, these observations do not support the hypothesis that melanin granules are modified mitochondria.