Watching eyes take shape

Vertebrate eye formation is a multistep process requiring coordinated inductive interactions between neural and non-neural ectoderm and underlying mesendoderm. The induction and shaping of the eyes involves an elaborate cellular choreography characterized by precise changes in cell shape coupled with complex cellular and epithelial movements. Consequently, the forming eye is an excellent model to study the cellular mechanisms underlying complex tissue morphogenesis. Using examples largely drawn from recent studies of optic vesicle formation in zebrafish and in cultured embryonic stem cells, in this short review, we highlight some recent advances in our understanding of the events that shape the vertebrate eye.