Inferring the thoracic bristle patterning network of Drosophila

Bárbara Negre
Another interesting example of an evolving network is the thoracic bristle patterning network. It is responsible for the positioning of mechanosensory bristles on the thorax of the fly during larval development and pupation. In contrast to both gap and heart networks, it is evolving extremely fast. Thoracic bristle patterns are used as species-defining traits. We ultimately aim to apply our reverse-engineering approach to study the development and evolution of this network. Before this is possible, however, we will need to gain a better understanding of how it functions in Drosophila. For this reason, we have initiated an expression screen that aims to identify novel regulators of bristle patterning. It combines expression studies with a qualitative modeling approach based on graphical primitives, to identify and predict new regulatory interactions.