Choosing a cell fate: a view from the Notch locus

During the development of Drosophila melanogaster, individual cells must make choices between a restricted set of possible fates in order to give rise to spatial patterns composed of different types of differential cells. The Notch locus appears to play a central and general role in the regulative events that control the local architecture of the final cellular pattern in several tissues, among them being the central and peripheral nervous systems.