Genetic regulation of early eye development in non-dipteran insects

Abstract

Drosophila is only one representative of the tremendous biodiversity of over one million insect species which differ fundamentally in compound eye structure detail and developmental strategies. Indeed, the great majority of insects develop their compound eyes from embryonic or postembryonic precursor tissues that differ dramatically from the organization of the Drosophila eye-antennal imaginal disc. This chapter provides an overview of the comparative studies of compound eye development that have been conducted in flour beetles, grasshoppers, and crickets.