Electrophoresis of tear proteins on agarose gel showed polymorphism in the fastest migrating protein among 32 inbred strains of rats. In 8 strains, the protein was missing (RTP-2 B), while the other strains expressed the protein (RTP-2 A). The trait was found to be controlled by a single autosomal locus. The designation Rtp-2 locus, with two alleles (Rtp-2a, Rtp-2b), is tentatively proposed. The Rtp-2 locus is loosely linked to c locus, with a recombination frequency of 36.7 +/- 5.4 percent.