Dear Colleagues,

Numerous cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying biologically relevant functions of cell and animal development are highly conserved between insects and vertebrates, including humans. Since nearly 75% of human-disease-causing genes have functional homologs in the Drosophila genome, and extensive and powerful genetic tools and resources are readily available, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has become an excellent model to study human pathological conditions. Drosophila disease models have been generated to study various human disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases, metabolic syndromes, cancer, aging, and infectious diseases caused by pathogenic viruses.

With the aim of identifying the etiology of human diseases, research using Drosophila has allowed key advances, from human disease modeling to the dissection of cellular mechanisms and morphogenesis.

For this Special Issue, we welcome original research articles and up-to-date review that provide novel insights into the current use of Drosophila and its impact on the study of complex pathways relevant in biomedical research.

Dr. Silvia Bongiorni and Dr. Francesca Cipressa

Guest Editors