Bithorax-complex genes sculpt the pattern of leucokinergic neurons in the Drosophila central nervous system.

Although the Hox genes are the main factors involved in the generation of diversity along the anterior/posterior body axis of segmented organisms, it is still largely unknown how these genes act in single cells to determine specific traits at precise developmental stages. The aim of this study was to understand the mechanisms by which Hox genes of the Bithorax complex (Bx-C) of Drosophila act to define segmental differences in the ventral nerve cord of the central nervous system. To achieve this, we have focused on the specification of the leucokinin-expressing neurons. We find that these neurons are specified from the same progenitor neuroblast at two different developmental stages: embryonic and larval neurogenesis. We show that genes of the Bx-C acted in postmitotic cells to specify the segment-specific appearance of leucokinergic cells in the larval and adult ventral nerve cord.