MITF and retinal degeneration: It is well known that mice homozygous for the Mitf null allele Mitfmi-vga9 (hereafter referred to as Mitf−/− mice) show abnormal eye development and postnatal retinal degeneration (Hodgkinson et al., 1993; Nguyen and Arnheiter, 2000), as do mice homozygous for the original Mitfmi mutation (Bumsted and Barnstable, 2000).