Cell lineage of the Drosophila abdomen: the epidermis, oenocytes and ventral muscles.

We use a new cell marker to study cell lineage of the epidermis, oenocytes and ventral muscles in the Drosophila abdomen. We find that while the epidermal cells and the oenocytes share common precursors until late in development, the muscles derive from a separate lineage. Marked clones in the muscles, but not in the epidermis and oenocytes, can occasionally extend between neighbouring segments, supporting a previous hypothesis that mesoderm cells may not be determined as to segment.