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Differential scaling within an insect compound eye

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posted on 2023-06-09, 00:58 authored by Craig D Perl, Jeremy NivenJeremy Niven
Environmental and genetic influences cause individuals of a species to differ in size. As they do so, organ size and shape are scaled to available resources whilst maintaining function. The scaling of entire organs has been investigated extensively but scaling within organs remains poorly understood. By making use of the structure of the insect compound eye, we show that different regions of an organ can respond differentially to changes in body size. Wood ant (Formica rufa) compound eyes contain facets of different diameters in different regions. When the animal body size changes, lens diameters from different regions can increase or decrease in size either at the same rate (a ‘grade’ shift) or at different rates (a ‘slope’ shift). These options are not mutually exclusive, and we demonstrate that both types of scaling apply to different regions of the same eye. This demonstrates that different regions within a single organ can use different rules to govern their scaling, responding differently to their developmental environment. Thus, the control of scaling is more nuanced than previously appreciated, diverse responses occurring even among homologous cells within a single organ. Such fine control provides a rich substrate for the diversification of organ morphology.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Biology Letters

ISSN

1744-9561

Publisher

The Royal Society

Issue

3

Volume

12

Department affiliated with

  • Chemistry Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2016-04-20

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2016-04-20

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2016-04-20

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