Formation and specification of ventral neuroblasts is controlled by vnd inDrosophila neurogenesis

During Drosophila neural development, neuroblasts delaminate from the neuro ectoderm of each hemisegment in a stereotypic orthogonal array of five rows and three columns (ventral, intermediate, and dorsal). Prevailing evidence indicates that the individual neuroblast fate is determined by the domain- specific expression of genes along the dorsoventral and anteroposterior axi s. Here, we analyze the role of Vnd, a NK-2 homeodomain protein, expressed initially in the ventral neuroectoderm adjacent to the ventral midline, in the dorsoventral patterning of the neuroectoderm and the neuroblasts. We sh ow that in Md null mutants most ventral neuroblasts do not form and the few that form do not develop ventral fates, but instead develop intermediate-l ike fates. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Vnd influences the gene express ion patterns in the ventral proneural clusters and neuroectoderm, and that its action in neuroblast formation includes, but is not exclusive to the ac tivation of proneural AS-C genes. Through the use of GAL4/UAS gene-expressi on system we show that ectopic Vnd expression can promote ventral-like fate s in intermediate and dorsal neuroblasts and can suppress certain normal ch aracteristics of the intermediate and dorsal neuroectoderm Our results are discussed in the context of the current evidence in dorsoventral patterning in the Drosophila neuroectoderm.