Central Role for the Lens in Cave Fish Eye Degeneration

Central Role for the Lens in Cave Fish Eye Degeneration

Authors: Yoshiyuki Yamamoto & William R. Jeffery

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Abstract

Astyanax mexicanus is a teleost with eyed surface-dwelling and eyeless cavedwelling forms. Eye formation is initiated in cave Þsh embryos, but the eye subsequently arrests and degenerates. The surface Þsh lens stimulates growth and development after transplantation into the cave Þsh optic cup, restoring optic tissues lost during cave Þsh evolution. Conversely, eye growth and development are retarded following transplantation of a surface Þsh lens into a cave Þsh optic cup or lens extirpation. These results show that evolutionary changes in an inductive signal from the lens are involved in cave Þsh eye degeneration.