Peripheral Neurogenesis in "Drosophila"

Abstract

During metamorphosis, the wings of Drosophila form from the wing imaginal discs of the larva and acquire a highly specific set of sensory neurons. The developing neurons leave the cell cycle, differentiate, and grow their axons in a fixed order. The axons follow stereotyped paths through nonneural tissue, fasciculate together, and ultimately reach the CNS, where they form regular arborizations. Neurons differentiating ectopically (in mutant flies) grow irregularly and often away from the CNS. We are analyzing the factors that generate order and appropriate polarity along the normal nerve paths; lack of order and of consistent polarity prevail elsewhere. (Accepted for publication 1 June 1983)