Evolution of the vertebrate retina by repurposing of a composite ancestral median eye

The vertebrate retina is a uniquely complex and evolutionarily conserved structure, combining ciliary (rod and cone) and rhabdomeric (ganglion, amacrine and horizontal cells) photoreceptor lineages within a multilayered circuit. This arrangement contrasts with the ancestral bilaterian cephalic pattern, where rhabdomeric photoreceptors dominate lateral eyes and ciliary photoreceptors are largely limited to unpigmented, non-visual median positions. Here, we make a case that the vertebrate retina evolved through the lateralization of a complex median photoreceptive organ already containing both photoreceptor types. This shift likely followed the loss of lateral rhabdomeric eyes in a burrowing, suspension-feeding…

• WT
  Wellcome Trust

  Award: 220277/Z20/Z
• UR
  UK Research and Innovation

  Awards: BB/R014817/1, EP/Z533981/1
• LT
  Leverhulme Trust

  Awards: RPG-2-23-042, RPG-2021-026, PLP-2017-005, DS-2017-011
• HF
  Human Frontier Science Program

  Award: RGP0012025
• LI
  Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine
• V
  Vetenskapsrådet

  Awards: 2020-03200, 2024-05245
• EA
  Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

  Award: EP/Z533981/1
• BA
  Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

  Awards: BB/W013509/1, BB/R014817/1
• ER
  European Research Council

  Award: 677687