Genetic approaches in Drosophila for the study neurodevelopmental disorders

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is one of the premier genetic model organisms used in biomedical research today owing to the extraordinary power of its genetic tool-kit. Made famous by numerous seminal discoveries of basic developmental mechanisms and behavioral genetics, the power of fruit fly genetics is becoming increasingly applied to questions directly relevant to human health. In this review we discuss how Drosophila research is applied to address major questions in neurodevelopmental disorders.This article is part of the Special Issue entitled ‘Neurodevelopmental Disorders’.

► Drosophila melanogaster is one of the premier genetic model organisms.
► Drosophila genetics is increasingly applied to questions directly relevant to human health.
► We discuss how Drosophila research addresses major questions in neurodevelopmental disorders.