ABSTRACT
For centuries, the eye has fascinated scientists and philosophers alike, and as a result the visual system has always been at the forefront of integrating cutting-edge technology in research. We are again at a turning point at which technical advances have expanded the range of organisms we can study developmentally and deepened what we can learn. In this new era, we are finally able to understand eye development in animals across the phylogenetic tree. In this Review, we highlight six areas in comparative visual system development that address questions that are important for understanding the developmental basis of evolutionary change. We focus on the opportunities now available to biologists to study the developmental genetics, cell biology and morphogenesis that underlie the incredible variation of visual organs found across the Metazoa. Although decades of important work focused on gene expression has suggested homologies and potential evolutionary relationships between the eyes of diverse animals, it is time for developmental biologists to move away from this reductive approach. We now have the opportunity to celebrate the differences and diversity in visual organs found across animal development, and to learn what it can teach us about the fundamental principles of biological systems and how they are built.
Footnotes
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing or financial interests.
Funding
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NEI R01-EY18005, R01-EY29031 and R01-EY18005 to J.M.G.; 1DP5OD023111-01 to K.M.K.; and P30-EY08098 to the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh); the Eye and Ear Foundation of Pittsburgh; Research to Prevent Blindness; and Harvard University. Deposited in PMC for release after 12 months.
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