Figure 6.

Retinal degeneration is not prevented by the presence of a partial BBSome nor a complete BBSome without BBS3 function within photoreceptor cilia. (a) Retinal histology of 4-month-old Bbs2^−/−, Bbs7^−/−, Bbs8^−/−, Bbs4^−/− and Bbs3^−/− mice and their control littermates was visualized by light microscopy, and the thicknesses of their outer nuclear layers were quantified (b). Retinal histology of two animals per genotype is shown. Retinal degeneration in Bbs8^−/− mice, in which BBSome1·2·5·7·9 is denied photoreceptor ciliary entry, is more severe than that in Bbs7^−/− mice, in which a partial BBSome1·5·8·9 is in photoreceptor cilia. Retinal degeneration in Bbs3^−/− mice, which possess a completely assembled BBSome in photoreceptor cilia, is more severe than that in Bbs2^−/−, Bbs7^−/− or Bbs8^−/− mice, which possess partial BBSomes. Each data point represents the thickness of the outer nuclear layer of a single animal. The error bars represent the standard error of the mean.