PAX-6, EYES ABSENT, AND PROX-1 IN EYE DEVELOPMENT

Eyes in different systematic groups including arthropods, molluscs and vertebrates probably have a common evolutionary origin. As a conseque nce of this, related genes are used for regulation of the early steps of eye development in different organisms. In this review, I briefly s ummarize data on three gene families which might be essential for eye development across species: Pax-6/eyeless, Eya/eyes absent and Prox/pr ospero with emphasis on our contribution here. Mechanisms of eye forma tion and the generation of different types of eyes in the course of ev olution are discussed.