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Gerhard M. Technau
Institute of Genetics
University of Mainz

About this book

The central nervous system (CNS) represents the organ with the highest structural and functional complexity. Accordingly, uncovering the mechanisms leading to cell diversity, patterning and connectivity in the CNS is one of the major challenges in developmental biology. The developing CNS of the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster is an ideal model system to study these processes. Several principle questions regarding neurogenesis (like stem cell formation, cell fate specification, axonal pathfinding) have been addressed in Drosophila by focusing on the relatively simply structured truncal parts of the nervous system. This book provides an overview of some major facets of recent research on Drosophila brain development.

Table of contents

1. The Development of the Drosophila Larval Brain
Volker Hartenstein, Shana Spindler, Wayne Pereanu and Siaumin Fung

2. Anteroposterior Regionalization of the Brain: Genetic and Comparative Aspects
Robert Lichtneckert and Heinrich Reichert

3. Dorsoventral Patterning of the Brain: A Comparative Approach
Rolf Urbach and Gerhard M. Technau

4. Dissection of the Embryonic Brain Using Photoactivated Gene Expression
Jonathan Minden

5. Design of the Larval Chemosensory System
Reinhard F. Stocker

6. Development of the Drosophila Olfactory System
Veronica Rodrigues and Thomas Hummel

7. The Olfactory Sensory Map in Drosophila
Philippe P. Laissue and Leslie B. Vosshall

8. Optic Lobe Development
Karl-Friedrich Fischbach and Peter Robin Hiesinger

9. Clonal Unit Architecture of the Adult Fly Brain
Kei Ito and Takeshi Awasaki