Signalling pathways in Drosophila and vertebrate retinal development.
The near-catholic conservation of paired box gene 6 (Pax6) and its supporting cast of retinal determination genes throughout the animal kingdom has sparked a scientific war over the evolutionary origins of the eye. The battle pits those who support a polyphyletic history for the eye against those who argue for a common ancestor for all 'seeing' animals. Recent papers have shed light on how eyes in both vertebrates and invertebrates are patterned. New insights into the roles that signal-transduction cascades might have in determining the Drosophila melanogaster eye indicate that, like many developmental processes, eye specification is an inductive process.
Kumar
J P
JP
Department of Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, 1648 Pierce Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30033, USA. jkumar@cellbio.emory.edu
D000818:Animals; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D012160:Retina / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics*; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development