Linkage analysis in X-linked congenital stationary night blindness

X-linked congenital stationary night blindness (XL-CSNB) is a nonprogressive disorder of the retina, characterized by night blindness, reduced visual acuity, and myopia. Previous studies have localized the CNSB1 locus to the region between OTC and TIMP on the short arm of the X chromosome. We have carried out linkage studies in three XL-CSNB families that could not be classified as either complete or incomplete CSNB on the criteria suggested by Miyake et al. (1986. Arch. Ophthalmol. 104: 1013–1020). We used markers for the DXS538, DMD, OTC, MAOA, DXS426, and TIMP loci. Two-point analyses show that there is close linkage between CSNB and MAOA (θ_max = 0.05, Z_max = 3.39), DXS426 (θ_max = 0.06, Z_max = 2.42), and TIMP (θ_max = 0.07, Z_max = 2.04). Two multiply informative cross-overs are consistent with CSNB lying proximal to MAOA and distal to DXS426, respectively. Multipoint analysis supports this localization, giving the most likely order as DMD-17 cM-MAOA-7.5 cM-CSNB-7.5 cM-DXS426/TIMP-cen, and thus refines the localization of CSNB.