Level of TRY Gene Expression in Morphs Albino in Ball Python (Python regius)

Ball pythons or Python regius are well-known exotic pets, because of their gorgeous colors and patterns, particularly the albino morphs.There are different types of albino ball pythons, including the Candy and Candino variants, which differ in color intensity.In the Candino morph, the yellow color compared with the standard albino morph becomes a dark yellow, and the white stripe turns purple.In contrast, the Candy variants show a gold color that is more intense than both the standard albino and Candino morphs.The variation of the tyrosinase gene (TRY gene) expression is the major cause of the difference in coloration of the albino morph.This study is the first to report the expression levels of the TRY gene in these two albino morphs, Candy and Candino.The results indicate that the TRY gene expression in both variants is significantly lower than in wild-type ball pythons.Specifically, expression is reduced by a factor of 7.88 for the Candy variety and by 36.93 for the Candino variety.This means that the TRY gene expression in Candy is 4.69 times higher than in Candino.These results suggest that the TRY genes in both Candy and Candino morphs are still active and capable of expression.