Genetic odyssey to generate marked clones in Drosophila mosaics.

Abstract

Chimaeras, fanciful beasts that drew their force from being composed of parts of disparate animals, have stimulated our collective imagination for centuries. In modern terms, chimaeras are composite animals consisting of genetically distinct cell populations and are called "mosaics" if the different cell types have emerged from the same zygote. Phenotypic studies of chimeric animals formed from invertebrates, amphibians, birds, and mammals have provided many fundamental insights into biological processes, most notably in developmental biology. Many methods for generating both chimaeras and a range of markers for tracing their lineages have been developed over the years. Our laboratory has been intimately involved in the development of methods that facilitate the creation of genetic mosaics in Drosophila. Here, we review our contributions to the development of this field and discuss a number of approaches that will improve further the tool kit for generating mosaic animals.