Homozygous null mutation in ODZ3 causes microphthalmia in humans.

PURPOSE: Microphthalmia is a condition in which eyes are small in size, often associated with coloboma, as a result of aberrant eye development. Isolated microphthalmia is a model disease for studying early development of the human eye, and mutations in several key genes related to eye development have been linked to this phenotype.

METHODS

In our search for novel genes that cause autosomal recessive microphthalmia when mutated, we enrolled a family that consists of third-cousin parents and two children with isolated colobomatous microphthalmia.

RESULTS

Exome and autozygome analysis identified a null mutation in ODZ3, one of four vertebrate orthologs of odz in Drosophila.

CONCLUSION

Our data highlight a role for ODZ3 in the early development of the human eye.