Runt determines cell fates in the Drosophila embryonic CNS

The segmentation gene, runt, is expressed by a subset of the 30 neuroblasts that give rise to each neuromere of the Drosophila embryo. Runt activity in the neuroblasts is necessary for expression of even-skipped in the EL neurons. runt is therefore a good candidate for a gene specifying neuroblast identities. We have ectopically expressed Runt in restricted subsets of neuroblasts and show that Runt is sufficient to activate even-skipped expression in the progeny of specific neuroblasts. Using the marker Tau-green fluorescent protein to highlight the axons, we have found that the extra Even-skipped-expressing neurons project axons along the same pathway as the EL neurons. We find that Runt is expressed in neuroblast 3-3, supporting an autonomous role for runt during neuroblast specification.