[Development of Drosophila melanogaster in space flight]

The review deals with the available literary data on different aspects of Drosophila melanogaster vital functions in the conditions of real and modeled microgravity. The developmental stages, embryogenesis and aging, specifically, and behavioral reactions are discussed. The presented results of morphological as well as molecular genetic analyses are indicative of structural changes in early Drosophila embryos and their compensation during subsequent development, and formation of an adaptive gene-expression pattern in microgravity.