This is part 2 of our multi-part series on Human Skin Color.

The genetics of skin color is complicated, involving more than a dozen genes and scores of cellular interactions throughout a series of different biochemical processes. In this video we outline the basic process of how eumelanin is produced, and identify a few key genes whose mutations can have a huge impact on how much pigment is ultimately produced.

For more information on the biology of human skin color, visit www.evo-ed.org.

Support for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education program under Award No. DUE2020221