Cell adhesion molecules in the development of the Drosophila nervous system

Differential cell adhesion plays an essential role in the development of the Drosophila nervous system. Proteins that are involved in these adhesive interactions have been identified and characterized. Many of these molecules contain structural motifs that have previously been identified in cell adhesion molecules in vertebrates, suggesting that vertebrates and invertebrates may share many of the same molecular mechanisms of neuronal recognition and adhesion. Mutations in many of these adhesion molecules have now been identified; the classical and molecular genetic techniques that are the strengths of the Drosophila experimental system promise to be powerful tools for studying the role of cell adhesion molecules in the development of the nervous system.