Drosophila blood as a model system for stress sensing mechanisms

Abstract

The Drosophila lymph gland is the hematopoietic organ in which stem-like progenitors proliferate and give rise to myeloid-type blood cells. Mechanisms involved in Drosophila hematopoiesis are well established and known to be conserved in the vertebrate system. Recent studies in Drosophila lymph gland have provided novel insights into how external and internal stresses integrate into blood progenitor maintenance mechanisms and the control of blood cell fate decision. In this review, I will introduce a developmental overview of the Drosophila hematopoietic system, and recent understandings of how the system uses developmental signals not only for hematopoiesis but also as sensors for stress and environmental changes to elicit necessary blood responses.