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Updated: May 12, 2026
Stimulating and Analyzing Adult Neurogenesis in the Drosophila Central Brain
Published on: October 8, 2021
Clonal development and organization of the adult Drosophila central brain
Hung-Hsiang Yu1, Takeshi Awasaki, Mark David Schroeder
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Farm Research Campus, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA.
Background:
The insect brain can be divided into neuropils that are formed by neurites of both local and remote origin. The complexity of the interconnections obscures how these neuropils are established and interconnected through development. The Drosophila central brain develops from a fixed number of neuroblasts (NBs) that deposit neurons in regional clusters.
Results:
By determining individual NB clones and pursuing their projections into specific neuropils, we unravel the regional development of the brain neural network. Exhaustive clonal analysis revealed 95 stereotyped neuronal lineages with characteristic cell-body locations and neurite trajectories. Most clones show complex projection patterns, but despite the complexity, neighboring clones often coinnervate the same local neuropil or neuropils and further target a restricted set of distant neuropils.
Conclusions:
These observations argue for regional clonal development of both neuropils and neuropil connectivity throughout the Drosophila central brain.
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