Fly neurons carry a molecular ‘timestamp’ that encodes their birth order

TL;DR - A single-cell gene-expression atlas mapped onto the fruit-fly nerve cord’s wiring diagram revealed a shared molecular code that records neurons’ birth order. This “timestamp” helps explain how developmental lineage shapes neuronal diversity.

• Integrates single-cell gene-expression data with neural connectivity.
• Identifies a gene-expression code shared across neurons.
• The code preserves the order in which neurons arose from a parent cell.
• Birth-order information contributes to neuronal diversification.