PIGMENT GENE-EXPRESSION IN PROTAN COLOR-VISION DEFECTS

We screened 150 male eye donors and identified four who did not have o r express L pigment genes, consistent with each of them having a conge nital protan color vision defect. One donor was identified as a protan ope because he had and expressed a single X-chromosome photopigment ge ne that encoded an M pigment. Three were categorized as protanomalous because each expressed significant levels of genes specifying two spec trally different M pigments. The first gene in each of the pro:anomalo us arrays was expressed the most and encoded an M pigment that differe d in amino acid sequence from M pigments in color normal men. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.