About the Authors

Felix Grassmann

Affiliation Institute of Human Genetics, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

Peter G. A. Schoenberger

Affiliation Institute of Human Genetics, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

Caroline Brandl

Affiliations Institute of Human Genetics, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany, Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

Tina Schick

Affiliation Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

Daniele Hasler

Affiliation Biochemistry Center Regensburg (BZR), Laboratory for RNA Biology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

Gunter Meister

Affiliation Biochemistry Center Regensburg (BZR), Laboratory for RNA Biology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

Monika Fleckenstein

Affiliation Department of Ophthalmology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

Moritz Lindner

Affiliation Department of Ophthalmology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

Horst Helbig

Affiliation Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

Sascha Fauser

Affiliation Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

Bernhard H. F. Weber

bweb@klinik.uni-regensburg.de

Affiliation Institute of Human Genetics, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany

Competing Interests

ML and MF received research support from Genentech and Heidelberg Engineering. FG, PGS, CB, TS, DH, GM, HH, SF, and BHW have declared that no competing interests exist. This does not alter the authors' adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: FG GM BHW. Performed the experiments: FG PGS. Analyzed the data: FG PGS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: PGS CB TS DH MF ML HH SF. Contributed to the writing of the manuscript: FG BHW. Recruited and phenotyped patients and control individuals: PGS CB TS MF ML HH SF.