Tag team specification of a neural precursor in the Drosophila embryonic central nervous system

The development of vertebrate and invertebrate nervous systems requires the production of thousands to millions of uniquely specified neurons from progenitor neural stem cells. A central question focuses on the elucidation of the developmental mechanisms that function within neural stem cell lineages to impart unique identities to neurons. A recent report details the roles that two genes, pdm-1 and pdm-2, play within an identified neural stem cell lineage in the Drosophila embryonic central nervous system. The results show that pdm-1 and pdm-2 are coexpressed in an identified neural precursor and function redundantly to specify the fate of this cell. As such this report offers an initial view of the genetic programs that create neural diversity.