Differentiation of Drosophila glial cells

Glial cells are important constituents of the nervous system and a hallmark of these cells are their pronounced migratory abilities. In Drosophila, glial lineages have been well described and some of the molecular mechanisms necessary to guide migrating glial cells to their final target sites have been identified. With the onset of migration, glial cells are already specified into one of five main glial cell types. The perineurial and subperineurial glial cells are eventually located at the outer surface of the Drosophila nervous system and constitute the blood-brain barrier. The cortex glial cells ensheath all neuroblasts and their progeny and reside within the central nervous system. Astrocyte-like cells invade the neuropil to control synaptic function and ensheathing glial cells encase the entire neuropil. Within the peripheral nervous system, wrapping glial cells ensheath individual axons or axon fascicles. Here, we summarize the current knowledge on how differentiation of glial cells into the specific subtypes is orchestrated. Furthermore, we discuss sequencing data that will facilitate further analyses of glial differentiation in the fly nervous system.