Lack of pigmentation in the skin, hair, or feathers as a result of a failure of pigment cells to develop, or to migrate to those locations from their origin in the neural crest, in the embryo.
Note: Unlike
albinism, where the defect is in the production of melanin pigment only, animals with leucism usually have pigment in the eye, as
retinal pigment cells do not derive from the neural crest.
Source: PAC, 2016,
88, 713. (
Glossary of terms used in developmental and reproductive toxicology (IUPAC Recommendations 2016)) on page 772 [
Terms] [
Paper]