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出典:『Wikipedia』 (2011/07/07 16:43 UTC 版)

英語による解説

引用

Melanin (ⁱ/ˈmɛlənɪn/; Greek: μέλας, black) is a pigment that is ubiquitous in nature, being found in most organisms (spiders are one of the few groups in which it has not been detected). In animals melanin pigments are derivatives of the amino acid tyrosine. The most common form of biological melanin is eumelanin, a brown-black polymer of dihydroxyindole carboxylic acids, and their reduced forms. All melanins are derivatives of polyacetylene. The most common melanin – dopamelanin – is a mixed copolymer of polyacetylene, polyaniline, and polypyrrole. Another common form of melanin is pheomelanin, a red-brown polymer of benzothiazine units largely responsible for red hair and freckles. The presence of melanin in the archaea and bacteria kingdoms is an issue of ongoing debate among researchers in the field.