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We read with great interest the article by Brodsky¹ on the evolution of human stereopsis. Brodsky shows that the oblique muscles in humans seem to have abandoned their previous role in lower organisms in promoting panoramic vision and instead serve to stabilize the eyes to facilitate stereopsis. As Brodsky points out, this may be a very concrete example of evolutionary exaptation. This controversial term was originally coined by Gould and Vrba² and means that a certain gene or trait that has evolved to fulfill a specific function takes on a new role (ex) and gets a new function (aptus) for which it was not originally designed.

We wish to report that accumulating data from functional analyses of homologous genes in an increasing number of different organisms support the view that exaptation indeed is an important mechanism during evolution. Again, an interesting example can be found in . . . [Full Text of this Article]

AUTHOR INFORMATION
Henrik Zetterberg, MD, PhD; Madeleine Zetterberg, MD, PhD

RELATED ARTICLE

Evolution, Exaptation, and Stereopsis—Reply
Michael C. Brodsky
Arch Ophthalmol. 2005;123(9):1281.
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