Visually evoked eye movements in mouse mutants and inbred strains. A screening report.

The authors screened various inbred strains and mutants of the mouse, Mus musculus, for qualitatively abnormal or reduced numbers of optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) eye movements. Thirteen hypopigmentation mutants and ten neuromuscular mutants were found to have abnormal or markedly reduced OKN, but none of these mutants had retinal degeneration. Ten other hypopigmentation mutants and nine other neuromuscular mutants had relatively normal OKN, thus showing that neither hypopigmentation nor neuromuscular abnormality per se are well-correlated with abnormal OKN. These findings show that many mutants with visual defects are available from existing holdings. These visual mutants may serve as a resource for the study of the function and development of the mammalian visual system.