The Evolution of the Eye: A Molecular Perspective

The Evolution of the Eye: A Molecular Perspective
From: C0nc0rdance | May 10, 2009 | 4,894 views
The Evolution of the Eye: A Molecular Perspective.
This is a highly detailed molecular level view of the three components of the modern vertebrate eye:
1. Opsins (light sensing)
2. Developmental transcription factors (turn genes on and off at the right times)
3. Signal transduction (taking signals from membrane receptors to effector pathways)

All of these are highly conserved, line up with evolutionary divergences, and show predictable patterns with regards to importance in the basic visual unit.
Most figures are from the publicly available paper by Detlev Arendt, in International Journal of Developmental Biology, Vol 47: p 563-571.
You can find it at PubMed, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/