Suzuki Takumi, Sato Makoto
Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology, Brain/Liver Interface Medicine Research Center, Kanazawa University, 13-1 Takaramachi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, 920-8640, Japan.
Dev Growth Differ. 2014 Sep;56(7):491-8. doi: 10.1111/dgd.12151. Epub 2014 Sep 9.
The Drosophila optic lobe is composed of a wide variety of neurons that form laminar structures and columnar units. The fly optic lobe shares structural features with the mammalian brain, and fly genetics allow precise genetic manipulations. Thus, the Drosophila visual center is an excellent model for studying the mechanisms underlying the establishment of a functional neuronal circuit during brain development. However, little is understood about the developmental mechanisms that produce neuronal diversity and establish neuronal circuits in the medulla, the largest component of the optic lobe. Our recent research revealed key features of medulla development, such as birth-order-dependent specification of neuronal types and the subdivision of the medulla primordium into concentric zones, which is characterized by the expression of four transcription factors. Here, we review recent investigations into the development of the medulla and discuss the mechanisms that establish functional neuronal circuits.
果蝇视叶由形成层状结构和柱状单元的多种神经元组成。果蝇视叶与哺乳动物大脑具有共同的结构特征，并且果蝇遗传学允许进行精确的基因操作。因此，果蝇视觉中心是研究大脑发育过程中功能性神经元回路建立机制的极佳模型。然而，对于在视叶最大组成部分髓质中产生神经元多样性并建立神经元回路的发育机制，我们了解甚少。我们最近的研究揭示了髓质发育的关键特征，例如神经元类型的出生顺序依赖性特化以及髓质原基细分为同心区域，这一过程以四种转录因子的表达为特征。在这里，我们综述了最近对髓质发育的研究，并讨论了建立功能性神经元回路的机制。
