Morphogenetic studies on a microphthalmic strain (mc) in the mouse

Abstract

Morphogenetic and developmental studies were attempted on congenital microphthalmia in the mc-inbred-strain of mice. Most microphthalmia in the mc-strain close the eye lid, and some of them open slightly. In anatomical observation of adult mc-mice, average size of microphthalmic eye was less than 1/3 as compared to the normal strains, DDK and C57BL/6J. However, there exist considerable variation in the eye ball: from very small or anophthalmia to almost normal eye size, but all of them had abnormal ophthalmological structures. Embryological studies have shown that deformity of the eye began in the eye cup around day 11 and the diturbance in the eye cup seems to obstruct the subsequent ophthalmological character. The development and growth of the microphthalmic eye were supposed to be influenced by environmental factors in embryonic and postnatal stage. The hypothesis of a single autosomal mc-gene could not be confirmed in this study, but it could be said there exist a special gene or genes in mc-strain. The mc-gene or genes shows some pleiotropic effect to the nasal bone and tooth.