Neural specification, targeting, and circuit formation during visual system assembly
Abstract
How genes direct the development of the nervous system is a fundamental question in neurobiology. Here, we describe the gene networks that delineate cell fate and review the cell adhesion molecules used to guide axons and dendrites to the correct targets, and we discuss the mechanisms that cells use to migrate to their final destinations in the Drosophila visual system. We also draw comparisons between the fly and mammalian nervous systems that share common mechanisms used to guide their development. This allows us to suggest that principles emerging from the study of neuronal diversity, specification, and neural wiring in Drosophila are applicable to many systems and to most organisms.
- Publication:
-
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
- Pub Date:
- July 2021
- DOI:
- 10.1073/pnas.2101823118
- Bibcode:
- 2021PNAS..11801823M