Functional and Evolutionary Diversification of Otx2 and Crx in Vertebrate Retinal Photoreceptor and Bipolar Cell Development (Cell Reports)

Yamamoto et al. report the functional diversity and evolution of Otx2 and Crx in vertebrate retina. They find that Otx2 and Crx cannot replace each other in photoreceptor development and Otx2 has dose-dependent function in photoreceptor and bipolar cells. They identify the lamprey Otx2 and its expression in retinal photoreceptors.