Keeping an eye on the fly genome

With its unique structure and dynamic development, the Drosophila eye has been a powerful genetic model system for studying molecular mechanisms of cell fate specification and differentiation. Hundreds of genes that function in a complex genetic network controlling this process have been identified during the past two decades. To further advance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of eye development, it is increasingly important to place the current genetic pathway into a whole-genome perspective. Here, we review emerging technologies and strategies that will help to achieve this goal, including generation of a complete mutant set in Drosophila, genome-wide transcription factor target identification, and systematic studies of gene function aided by computational biology.