Development of the larval visceral musculature

The visceral mesoderm of Drosophila forms the thin layers of muscle fibers surrounding the digestive tract. Both during their development and after differentiation, these muscle tissues have crucial roles in the morphogenesis and functioning of the gut tube. The visceral muscles of the foregut, midgut and hindgut are generated from several distinct primor- dia that arise at precisely defined locations in the early mesoderm. Recent studies have greatly advanced our knowledge of the genetic and molecular patterning mechanisms that delineate these primordia during early mesoderm development. Many of the cellular processes and gene interactions that govern important spatial and functional subdivisions within these primordial tissues, as well as the differentiation of visceral myoblasts into gut muscles, have also been clarified. Herein, we present a summary of our current state of knowledge of Drosophila vis- ceral muscle development and focus on the genetic and molecular networks that control this developmental process.