Differentiation of soluble proteins in cataracts caused by deficiencies of methionine, riboflavin or zinc in diets fed to Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri, and lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush.

Water soluble extracts from cataractous and normal salmonid lenses were subjected to thin-layer isoelectric focusing. The cataracts resulted from deficiencies of specific nutrients in diets fed to three species of salmonids as follows: (1) rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) fed a diet deficient in riboflavin; (2) Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) fed a diet deficient in methionine; and (3) rainbow trout and lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) fed a diet deficient in zinc. In all tests, the protein pattern of cataractous lenses differed from that of normal lenses. Each cataract caused by the different dietary deficiencies had a specific pattern of soluble lens proteins. Even though the general patterns of the soluble lens proteins for all three salmonids though the general patterns of the soluble lens proteins for all three salmonids studied were similar, a specific pattern was unique for each of the species.