Selective loss of a family of gene transcripts in a hereditary murine cataract.

The eye lens of the Fraser mouse contains a dominantly inherited cataract with reduced amounts of seven distinct but homologous gamma crystallins encoded by a family of gamma-crystallin genes. The results of experiments with cultured lenses, cell-free RNA translation, and Northern blot hybridization indicated a specific loss of the family of gamma-crystallin messenger RNA's in the Fraser mouse lens. Southern blot hybridization of genomic DNA's from normal and Fraser mice showed no differences in gamma-crystallin coding sequences.