Suppression of the melanogenic potential of migrating neural crest-derived cells by the branchial arches

The development of melanocytes from neural crest‐derived precursors that migrate along the dorsolateral pathway has been attributed to the selection of this route by cells that are fate‐restricted to the melanocyte lineage. Alternatively, melanocytes could arise from nonspecified cells that develop in response to signals encountered while these cells migrate, or at their final destinations. In most animals, the bowel, which is colonized by...