Drosophila myogenesis.
The skeletal muscle system is the largest organ in motile animals, constituting between 35 and 55% of the human body mass, and up to 75% of the body mass in flying organisms like Drosophila. The flight muscles alone in flying insects comprise up to 65% of total body mass. Not only is the musculature the largest organ system, it is also exquisitely complex, with single muscles existing in different shapes and sizes. These different morphologies allow for such different functions as the high-frequency beating of a wing in a hummingbird, the dilation of the pupil in a human eye, or the maintenance of posture in a giraffe's neck.
Program in Developmental Biology, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Ingo
I
Bothe
Program in Developmental Biology, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA. Electronic address: m-baylies@ski.mskcc.org.
Mary K
MK
Baylies
D000818:Animals; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000196:embryology* / Q000254:growth & development*; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development; D024510:Muscle Development; D011679:Pupa / Q000254:growth & development