Evolution of compound eye morphology underlies differences in vision between closely related Drosophila species.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Insects have evolved complex visual systems and display an astonishing range of adaptations for diverse ecological niches. Species of Drosophila melanogaster subgroup exhibit extensive intra- and interspecific differences in compound eye size. These differences provide an excellent opportunity to better understand variation in insect eye structure and the impact on vision. Here we further explored the difference in eye size between D. mauritiana and its sibling species D. simulans.

Results

We confirmed that D. mauritiana have rapidly evolved larger eyes as a result of more and wider ommatidia than D. simulans since they recently diverged approximately 240,000 years ago. The functional impact of eye size, and specifically ommatidia size, is often only estimated bas

SUBMITTER: Buffry AD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10953123 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature