In Drosophila, the ability to analyze the development of individually identified neurons with a variety of imaging and biophysical techniques can be complemented by sophisticated genetics and molecular biology. This powerful combination is allowing the development and function of single neurons and their synaptic connections to be unraveled at an… Read More

The connectin gene of Drosophila has been identified as a candidate direct target of homeotic gene control and has also been implicated in the formation of specific neuromuscular connections. The gene product, connectin, is a member of the leucine-rich repeat protein family and we show that it is attached to… Read More

Drosophila is one of the most fully described eukaryotic organisms and, as a system, offers the most advanced genetic and molecular techniques. In particular, Drosophila embryonic development has been subject to intensive genetic and molecular examination. Drosophila is also one of the few genetically malleable organisms to permit electrophysiological investigation… Read More

The Drosophila protein Rop shows similarity with the Sec1p protein of S. cerevisiae. Sec1p has an essential role in secretion, whereas most related proteins from higher organisms are hypothesized to function in neurotransmitter release. We show that, like the latter proteins, Rop is expressed in the nervous system, but it… Read More

In each Malpighian tubule of Drosophila, one cell is singled out, the tip cell, whose function during embryogenesis is to promote cell division in its neighbours. We follow the segregation of this cell, explore the genetic interactions that underlie its specification and demonstrate that tip cell allocation closely resembles neurogenesis. Read More

Synaptotagmin is an integral synaptic vesicle protein proposed to be involved in Ca(2+)-dependent exocytosis during synaptic transmission. Null mutations in synaptotagmin have been made in Drosophila, and the protein's in vivo function has been assayed at the neuromuscular synapse. In the absence of synaptotagmin, synaptic transmission is dramatically impaired but… Read More