Abstract
Abstract The Drosophila heart is a simple linear heart tube that is reminiscent of the primitive tubular heart found in early vertebrate embryos. The evolutionary conservation of the Drosophila heart and powerful genetic tools for analyzing gene functions and interactions make Drosophila a unique system to study the molecular mechanisms of development governing cardiac specification and differentiation. The use of Drosophila as a model system has recently been extended to study genes involved in cardiac aging and function. In this chapter, we summarize the current knowledge and recent findings in Drosophila cardiac specification and differentiation, as well as touch on new research on heart physiology and aspects of aging. The potential of using Drosophila as a model system to identify genetic loci contributing to polygenic cardiac disorders is to be discussed.
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