Because mutations in the peripherin/RDS gene have been found in retinal dystrophies involving the macula, we examined various types of macular dystrophies from southern France to characterize sequence variations that may be associated with these conditions. DNA sequence analysis of the full coding and flanking regions of the peripherin/RDS gene was performed in fifteen unrelated patients with different types of macular dystrophy, including nine with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Of the 15 probands with macular disease, two (13.3%) were found to carry a mutation in the peripherin/RDS gene. The recurrent mutation P216S was identified in a pedigree with autosomal dominant RP. A previously unreported complex allele (1064delTC associated with IVS2 + 22ins7) that is predicted to result in the premature termination of peripherin/RDS synthesis was identified in a sporadic case of macular atrophy with RP. We also report eight novel neutral sequence variations in the peripherin/RDS gene, most of them found in the 3' untranslated part of the gene.