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<p>Panoramic vision of the convex compound eyes, common to insects and crustaceans, relies on micrometer-scale curvature variations. These variations generate specialized visual zones adapted to specific tasks, including detecting prey, mates, or predators. However, how such fine-scale curvature is encoded during development remains unknown. We find in <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> that the basal surface of the developing retina is organized as a supracellular triangular mesh where the size of these triangles is distributed in a species-specific 2D pattern. Functional experiments using genetic perturbations, together with computational modeling, support the notion that this pattern guides adult eye local curvature. A similar pattern in the <i>Drosophila mauritania</i> developing retina indicates an evolutionary conservation of this mechanism. Our findings identify a mechanism of morphogenesis where fine-scale 3D curvature is programmed in the 2D patterning of a tissue with metamaterial properties. This mechanism provides a framework for designing shape-programmable 3D biological surfaces, with broad implications from synthetic morphogenesis to clinical applications.</p>

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A natural programmable metamaterial controls 3D curvature of compound eyes

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月30日

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  • Juan Garrido-García,
  • Rhian F. Walther,
  • Jesús Torres-Tirado,
  • Jesús A. Andrés-San Román,
  • José A. Sanz-Herrera,
  • Franck Pichaud,
  • Fernando Casares,
  • Luis M. Escudero

摘要

Panoramic vision of the convex compound eyes, common to insects and crustaceans, relies on micrometer-scale curvature variations. These variations generate specialized visual zones adapted to specific tasks, including detecting prey, mates, or predators. However, how such fine-scale curvature is encoded during development remains unknown. We find in Drosophila melanogaster that the basal surface of the developing retina is organized as a supracellular triangular mesh where the size of these triangles is distributed in a species-specific 2D pattern. Functional experiments using genetic perturbations, together with computational modeling, support the notion that this pattern guides adult eye local curvature. A similar pattern in the Drosophila mauritania developing retina indicates an evolutionary conservation of this mechanism. Our findings identify a mechanism of morphogenesis where fine-scale 3D curvature is programmed in the 2D patterning of a tissue with metamaterial properties. This mechanism provides a framework for designing shape-programmable 3D biological surfaces, with broad implications from synthetic morphogenesis to clinical applications.