Concomitant requirement for Notch and Jak/Stat signaling during neuro-epithelial differentiation in the Drosophila optic lobe.

The optic lobe forms a prominent compartment of the Drosophila adult brain that processes visual input from the compound eye. Neurons of the optic lobe are produced during the larval period from two neuroepithelial layers called the outer and inner optic anlage (OOA, IOA). In the early larva, the optic anlagen grow as epithelia by symmetric cell division.