Singular compound eye architecture of the varnished eye mutation, ve, in Bombyx mori

The surface and internal structures of the glossy and small sized imaginal eyes in the varnished-eye mutation (ve) of Bombyx mori were observed in comparison with the normal compound eyes by scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. The ve mutant eyes were found to have apart and irregular facets (surfaces of corneas) and degenerated internal structures at the crystalline cones and retinular pigment cells covering the rhabdoms. We infer that the ve mutant gene causes differentiation disorders in the ommatidium during eye morphogenesis.