The evolution of vision

In this review, the evolution of vision is retraced from its putative origins in cyanobacteria to humans. Circadian oscillatory clocks, phototropism, and phototaxis require the capability to detect light. Photosensory proteins allow us to reconstruct molecular phylogenetic trees. The evolution of animal eyes leading from an ancestral prototype to highly complex image forming eyes can be deciphered on the basis of evolutionary developmental genetic experiments and comparative genomics. As all bilaterian animals share the same master control gene, Pax6, and the same retinal and pigment cell determination genes, we conclude that the different eye‐types originated monophyletically and subsequently diversified by divergent, parallel, or convergent evolution. WIREs Dev Biol 2014, 3:1–40. doi: 10.1002/wdev.96 This article is categorized under: Gene Expression and Transcriptional Hierarchies > Regulatory Mechanisms Gene Expression and Transcriptional Hierarchies > Gene Networks and Genomics Early Embryonic Development > Development to the Basic Body Plan Comparative Development and Evolution > Organ System Comparisons Between Species