Skip to main content

Developmental Heterochrony and the Evolution of Species Differences in Retinal Specializations

  • Chapter

Part of the book series: Perspectives in Vision Research ((PIVR))

Abstract

The vertebrate retina is relatively stable across phylogeny in the classes and types of cell that compose its radial organization. Mechanistic studies of development have described how aspects of retinal organization common to all retinas emerge, such as the control of neurogenesis of particular cell types, competitive control of cell survival and dendritic organization in the development of retinal lamination, and the mechanics of directed axon outgrowth. However, vertebrate eyes also differ markedly between species in overall size, shape, and resolving power as well as in the number and arrangement of cells in the retina. Thus, studies of retinal neurogenesis must account for the development of species differences in eye conformation and retinal organization and address the evolutionary regulation of these developmental programs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Alberch, P., and Alberch, A., 1981, Heterochronic mechanisms of morphological diversification and evolutionary change in the neotropical salamander, Bolitoglossa occidentalis (Amphibia: Plethodontidae), J. Morphol. 167:249–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alberch, P., Gould, S. J., Oster, G. F., and Wake, D. B., 1979, Size and shape in ontogeny and phylogeny. Paleobiology 5:296–317.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ambros, V., and Horvitz, H. R., 1984, Heterochronic mutants of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Science 226:409–416.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Black, I. B., 1986, Trophic molecules and the evolution of the nervous system, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83:8249–8252.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bonner, J. T. (ed.), 1980, Evolution and Development, Springer-Verlag, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruckner, G., Mares, V., and Biesold, D., 1976, Neurogenesis in the visual system of the rat: An autoradiographic investigation, J. Comp. Neurol. 166:245–256.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Calder, W. A., 1984, Size, Function and Life History, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Creighton, G. K., and Strauss, R. E., 1986, Comparative patterns of growth and development in cricetine rodents and the evolution of ontogeny. Evolution 4:94–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drager, U., 1985, Birthdates of cells giving rise to the crossed and uncrossed optic projections in the mouse, Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. B 224:57–77

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Drager, U. C., and Olsen, J., 1981, Ganglion cell distribution in the retina of the mouse, Invest. Ophthalmol Vis. Sci. 20:285–293.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dreher, B., and Robinson, S. R., 1988, Development of the retinofugal pathway in birds and mammals: Evidence for a common "time table," Brain Behav. Evol. 31:325–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dreher, B., Potts, R. A., Ni, S. Y. K., and Bennett, M. R., 1984, The development of heterogeneities in distribution and soma sizes of rat retinal ganglion cells, in Development of Visual Pathways in Mammals (J. Stone, B. Dreher, and D. Rapaport, eds.), pp. 39–57, Alan R. Liss, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dreher, B., Sefton, A. J., Ni, S. Y. K., and Nisbett, G., 1985, The morphology, number, distribution and central projections of Class I retinal ganglion cells in albino and hooded rats, Brain Behav. Evol. 26:10–48.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, J. F., 1981, The Mammalian Radiations: An Analysis of Trends in Evolution, Adaptation and Behavior, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emerson, V. F., 1980, Grating acuity of the golden hamster: Effects of stimulus orientation and luminance, Exp. Brain Res. 38:43–52.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Finlay, B. L., Wikler, K. C., and Sengelaub, D. R., 1987, Regressive events in brain development and scenarios for vertebrate brain evolution. Brain Behav. Evol. 519:102–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodwin, B. C., Holder, N., and Wylie, C. C. (eds.), 1983, Development and Evolution, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gould, S. J., 1977, Ontogeny and Phylogeny, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greiner, J. V., 1981, Histogenesis of the ferret retina, Exp. Eye Res. 33:315–332.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Greiner, J. V., and Weidman, T. A., 1980, Histogenesis of the cat retina, Exp. Eye Res. 30:439–453.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hallet, P. E., 1987, The scale of the visual pathways of mouse and rat, Biol. Cybern. 57:275–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, Z., 1985, Distribution of ganglion cells in the retina of adult pigmented ferret. Brain Res. 358:221–228.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, Z., Finlay, B. L., and Wikler, K. C., 1988, Development of ganglion cell topography in ferret retina, J. Neurosci. 8:1194–1205.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Horsburgh, G. H., and Sefton, A. J., 1987, Cellular degeneration and synaptogenesis in the developing retina of the rat, J. Comp. Neurol. 263:553–556.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, A., 1977, The topography of vision in mammals of contrasting lifestyle: Comparative optics and rednal organization, in Handbook of Sensory Physiology, Vol. VII, 5th ed. (F. Crescitelli, ed.), pp. 613–756, Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingle, D. J., 1981, New methods for analysis of vision in gerbils, Behav. Brain Res. 3:151–175.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jerison, H. J., 1973, Evolution of the Brain and Intelligence, Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelling, S. T., Sengelaub, D. R., Wikler, K. C., and Finlay, B. L., 1989, Differential Elasticity of the Immature Retina: a Contribution to the Development of the Area Centralis? Vis Neurosci 2, in Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lia, B., Williams, R. W., and Chalupa, L. M., 1987, Non-uniform growth of the fetal retina can account for the prenatal development of regional specialization in the ganglion cell layer of the cat. Science 236:848–851.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mann, M. D., Glickman, S. E., and Towe, A. L., 1988, Brain/body relationships among myomorph rodents. Brain Behav. Evol. 31:111–124.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mastronarde, D. M., Thibeault, M. A., and Dubin, M. W., 1984, Non-uniform postnatal growth of the cat retina, J. Comp. Neurol. 288:598–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morest, D. K., 1970, The pattern of neurogenesis in the retina of the rat, Z. Anat. Entwicklungsgesch. 131:45–67.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Perry, V. H., Henderson, Z., and Linden, R., 1983, Postnatal changes in retinal ganglion cell and optic axon populations in the pigmented rat, J. Comp. Neurol. 219:356–368.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Provis, J. M., 1987, Patterns of cell death in the ganglion cell layer of the human fetal retina, J. Comp. Neurol. 259:237–246.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Provis, J. M., van Driel, D., Billson, F. A., and Russell, P. 1985a, Development of the human retina: Patterns of cell distribution and redistribution in the ganglion cell layer, J. Comp. Neurol. 233:429–452.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Provis, J. M., van Driel, D., Billson, F. A., and Russell, P., 1985b, Human fetal optic nerve: Overproducdon and eliminadon of retinal axons during development, J. Comp. Neurol 238:92–100.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Raff, R. A., and Kaufman, T. C., 1983, Embryos, Genes, and Evolution, Macmillan, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rapaport, D. H., and Stone, J., 1982, The site of commencement of maturation in mammalian redna: Observations in the cat. Dev. Brain Res. 5:273–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Remtulla, S., and Hallet, P. E., 1985, A schematic eye for the mouse and comparisons with the rat. Vision Res. 25:21–31.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, S. R., 1987, Ontogeny of the area centralis in the cat, J. Comp. Neurol. 254:50–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, S. R., Dreher, B., Horsburgh, G. M., and McCall, M. J., 1986, Development of ganglion cell density in the rabbit, Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 12:985.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sacher, G. A., 1982, The role of brain maturation in the evolution of the primates, inPrimate Brain Evolution: Methods and Concepts (E. A. Armstrong and D. Falk, eds.), Plenum Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sengelaub, D. R., and Finlay, B. L., 1982, Cell death in the mammalian visual system during normal development: 1. Retinal ganglion cells, J. Comp. Neurol 204:311–317.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sengelaub, D. R., Dolan, R. P., and Finlay, B. L., 1986, Cell generation, death, and retinal growth in the development of the hamster retinal ganglion cell layer, J. Comp. Neurol. 246:527–543.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sidman, R. L., 1961, Histogenesis of mouse retina studied with thymidine-3H, in Structure of the Eye (G. K. Smelser, ed.), pp. 487–506, Academic Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stone, J., 1965, A quantitative analysis of the distribution of ganglion cells in the cat’s retina, J. Comp. Neurol. 124:337–352.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stone, J., 1978, The number and distribution of ganglion cells in the cat’s retina, J. Comp. Neurol. 180:753–772.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stone, J., 1983, Parallel Processing in the Visual System, pp. 265–325, Plenum Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stone, J., Rapaport, D. H., Williams, R. W., and Chalupa, L., 1982, Uniformity of cell distribution in the ganglion cell layer of prenatal cat retina: Implications for mechanisms of retinal development, Dev. Brain Res. 2:231–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stone, J., Egan, M., and Rapaport, D. H. 1985, The site of commencement of retinal maturation in the rabbit. Vision Res. 25:309–317.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wall, G. L., 1942, The Vertebrate Eye and Its Adaptive Radiation, Hafner, New York.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Webster, M., 1985, Cytogenesis, histogenesis and morphological differentiation of the retina, Ph.D. dissertation. University of New South Wales, N.S.W. Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikler, K. C., 1987, Developmental heterochrony and the development of species differences in retinal specializations, Ph.D. dissertation, Cornell University, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wikler, K. C., Perez, G., and Finlay, B. L., 1988, Neurogenesis in the gerbil retina: a comparative analysis of the effects of developmental duration or retinal conformation, unpublished manuscript.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, R. O. L., and Hughes, A., 1987, Role of cell death in the topogenesis of neuronal distributions in the developing cat retinal ganglion cell layer, J. Comp. Neurol. 262:496–511.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1989 Plenum Press, New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Wikler, K.C., Finlay, B.L. (1989). Developmental Heterochrony and the Evolution of Species Differences in Retinal Specializations. In: Finlay, B.L., Sengelaub, D.R. (eds) Development of the Vertebrate Retina. Perspectives in Vision Research. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5592-2_10

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5592-2_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-5594-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-5592-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics