Development and morphology of the clock‐gene‐expressing lateral neurons of Drosophila melanogaster

The lateral neurons in Drosophila melanogaster form anatomical connections in the accessory medulla, which may influence locomotor activity rhythms.

• Lateral neurons are essential for the locomotor activity rhythm and are categorized into three groups: dorsal lateral neurons, large ventral lateral neurons, and small ventral lateral neurons.
• The small ventral lateral neuron group consists of four neurons that express a neuropeptide and one neuron that does not.
• Both large ventral lateral neurons and dorsal lateral neurons have been observed to arborize in the accessory medulla, forming postsynaptic sites.
• The large ventral lateral neurons may receive light input from an eyelet on the same side, while dorsal lateral neurons may receive input from the opposite side.
• During midmetamorphosis, both the dorsal lateral neurons and large ventral lateral neurons differentiate in close proximity to each other and the PDF-negative small ventral lateral neurons.

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