Light and the evolution of vision

Abstract

It might seem a little ridiculous to cover the period over which vision evolved, perhaps 1.5 billion years, in only 3000 words. Yet, if we examine the photoreceptor molecules of the most basic eukaryote protists and even before that, in those of prokaryote bacteria and cyanobacteria, we see how similar they are to those of mammalian rod and cone photoreceptor opsins and the photoreceptive molecules of light sensitive ganglion cells. This shows us much with regard the development of vision once these proteins existed, but there is much more to discover about the evolution of even more primitive vision systems.