A quantitative analysis of growth control in the Drosophila eye disc.

The size and shape of organs is species specific, and even in species in which organ size is strongly influenced by environmental cues, such as nutrition or temperature, it follows defined rules. Therefore, mechanisms must exist to ensure a tight control of organ size within a given species, while being flexible enough to allow for the evolution of different organ sizes in different species. We combined computational modeling and quantitative measurements to analyze growth control in the Drosophila eye disc.