DNA samples from 161 unrelated patients with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa were screened for point mutations in the rhodopsin gene by using the polymerase chain reaction and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Thirty-nine patients were found to carry 1 of 13 different point mutations at 12 amino acid positions. The presence or absence of the mutations correlated with the presence or absence of retinitis pigmentosa in 174 out of 179 individuals tested in 17 families. The mutations were absent from 118 control subjects with normal vision.

Blue cone monochromacy is a rare X-linked disorder of color vision characterized by the absence of both red and green cone sensitivities. In 12 of 12 families carrying this trait, alterations are observed in the red and green visual pigment gene cluster. The alterations fall into two classes. One class arose from the wild type by a two-step pathway consisting of unequal homologous recombination and point mutation. The second class arose by nonhomologous deletion of genomic DNA adjacent to the red and green pigment gene cluster. These deletions define a 579-base pair region that is located 4 kilobases upstream of the red pigment gene and 43 kilobases upstream of the nearest green pigment gene; this 579-base pair region is essential for the activity of both pigment genes.

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Cohesin’s complex distribution on chromosomes and its implication in numerous cellular processes makes it an excellent paradigm for studying the relationship between the in vivo concentration of a protein and its in vivo function. Here, we report a method to generate systematic quantized reductions (QR) in the in vivo concentration of any yeast protein. Using QR, we generate strains with 13% and 30% of wild-type levels of the limiting subunit of cohesin, Mcd1p/Scc1p/Rad21p. Reducing cohesin levels reveals a preferential binding of cohesin to pericentric regions over cohesin-associated regions (CAR) on chromosome arms. Chromosome condensation, repetitive DNA stability, and DNA repair are compromised by decreasing cohesin levels to 30% of wild-type levels. In contrast, sister chromatid cohesion and chromosome segregation are unaffected even when cohesin levels are reduced to 13% of wild-type levels. The requirement for different in vivo cohesin concentrations to achieve distinct cohesin functions provides an explanation for how cohesin mutations can specifically lead to adult disorders such as Cornelia de Lange Syndrome and Roberts Syndrome without compromising the cell divisions needed for development and maturation. Our successful application of QR to cohesin suggests that QR is a powerful tool to study other proteins/pathways with multiple functions.