A number of laboratories, including ours, carried out a series of in vitro (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21) and in vivo (20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26) experiments aimed at elucidating the biological function of the ELOVL4 protein and how the mutations cause blindness in patients with STGD3. The gene discussed is ELOVL4; the disease is blindness (disorder).