The olfactory and visual systems are closely related in Drosophila

The olfactory and visual systems of Drosophila have similar developmental origins: both derived from the eye-antennal imaginal disc. Moreover, there are commonalities in the cellular, molecular, and genetic underpinnings of their development. For example, the developmental program of both systems entails cell death, which depends upon the irregular chiasm C-roughest gene, and both systems require the lozenge gene for normal pattern formation. The rdgB (retinal degeneration B) gene is required not only for the maintenance and physiology of the visual system, but also for olfactory physiology. This gene has been shown by others to encode a phosphatidylinositol transfer protein; it is expressed both in visual and olfactory organs. The norpA gene, which encodes a phospholipase C, is also required both for phototransduction and for odorant response in one olfactory organ. Thus some genes are required in both systems; in addition, at least one olfactory gene that is apparently not expressed in the visual system may have a visual system counterpart. These and other similarities are considered in terms of the evolutionary relationship between the two systems. We conclude that analysis of the visual system is likely to provide insight into the development and function of the olfactory system, and vice versa.