The developmental origin of cell type diversity in the drosophila visual system

Abstract

The Drosophila visual system is composed of complex neural circuits involving an incredible variety of neurons, making it an excellent model system to study how cell type diversity is generated during development. Recent studies using new genetic tools and cellular markers have shown that this diversity is generated by at least four neurogenesis modes involving four different types of progenitors localized in distinct regions of the developing optic lobes. In this chapter, I will first describe the anatomical organization of the visual system and then review the different neurogenesis modes generating cell diversity in the four optic lobe neuropils.