Composition of a Neuromere and Its Segmental Diversification under the Control of Hox Genes in the Embryonic CNS of Drosophila

Abstract

Studies performed at the level of single, identified cells in the fruitfly Drosophila have decisively contributed to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development and function of the nervous system. This review highlights some of the work based on single-cell analyses in the embryonic/larval CNS that sheds light on the principles underlying formation and organization of an entire segmental unit and its divergence along the anterior/posterior body axis.

Keywords::

• cell lineage
• CNS
• Drosophila
• Hox genes
• single-cell tracing
• segmental patterning

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS

We thank Chun-Fang Wu and Karl Fischbach for inviting us to write this review, and Karl Fischbach and Dierk Reiff for organizing the fantastic meeting “The Nervous System of Drosophila melanogaster: from Development to Function”, September 2013, in Freiburg, which gave grounds for this contribution.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no declaration of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Our work was supported by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.