First published online September 30, 2004
Development 131, 2004e (2004)
© The Company of Biologists Limited
Building an adult insect nervous system
Insects that undergo complete metamorphosis, such as Drosophila,
have two waves of neurogenesis. The embryonic wave, which generates the
neurons that regulate larval behaviour, has been extensively studied. However,
little is known about the postembryonic patterning of the adult-specific
structures of the central nervous system (CNS). On p.
5167, Truman and
colleagues use mosaic analysis with a repressible cell marker (MARCM) to
follow adult-specific lineages of cells produced from individual neuroblasts
in the ventral CNS of larval Drosophila. They identify the 24
lineages that make up the scaffold of a thoracic hemineuromere, and show that
the adult-specific cells in a given lineage are all very similar and project
to only one or two initial targets. The description of these initial contacts
provides a developmental framework for future studies into how the complex
connectivity of the adult CNS is achieved.
Related articles in Development:
- Developmental architecture of adult-specific lineages in the ventral CNS of Drosophila
- James W. Truman, Hansjürgen Schuppe, David Shepherd, and Darren W. Williams
Development 2004 131: 5167-5184.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
