Molecular Genetics of Inherited Eye Disorders

Molecular Genetics of Inherited Eye Disorders provides an authoritative and up-to-date account of molecular genetic advances in a wide spectrum of genetic eye disorders, and forms the second volume in the Modern Genetics book series. The field has produced some dramatic and often unexpected findings in recent years ranging from the elegant unravelling of the molecular basis of colour vision defects to the subtle complexity of the retinoblastoma gene. The role of crystallins in congenital cataract and of the rhodopsin molecule in retinitis pigmentosa are discussed, illustrating the importance of the candidate gene approach to genetic eye disease. Reverse genetic approaches to the cloning of genes responsible for aniridia and choroideremia exemplify the power of the new genetic techniques and signal the start of the next experimental phase, in which the functional characterization of identified genes begins.