Bug Eyes

A key protein called "spacemaker" in the compound eyes of fruit flies is responsible for the formation of separate light-gathering units in each of the 800 unit eyes, according to a new study by biologists at the University of California, San Diego. Called an "open system," this eye arrangement enabled insects to make significant improvements in visual acuity.

In contrast, beetles (shown surrounding the fruit fly), bees and many mosquito species, which have the light-gathering units fused together into a "closed system," lack this protein. The centers of the fruit fly and beetle eyes glow due to a fluorescent protein.

The researchers showed that the loss of this protein can convert the open eye systems of fruit flies into a closed one. Introducing the protein into eyes with a closed system transformed them into an open one. "These results help illustrate the beauty and power of evolution and show how 'little steps'--like the presence of a single structural protein--can so spectacularly account for major changes in form and function," said lead researcher Charles Zuker of UCSD.

--LiveScience Staff

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Credit: Andrew Zelhof/UCSD