Escargot restricts niche cell to stem cell conversion in the Drosophila testis

Justin Voog; Sharsti L Sandall; Gary R Hime; Luís Pedro F Resende; Mariano Loza-Coll; Aaron Aslanian; John R Yates 3rd; Tony Hunter; Margaret T Fuller; D Leanne Jones

doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2014.04.025

Escargot restricts niche cell to stem cell conversion in the Drosophila testis

Cell Rep. 2014 May 8;7(3):722-34. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2014.04.025. Epub 2014 May 1.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA; Laboratory of Genetics, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
² Laboratory of Genetics, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
³ ARC Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology and Development, University of Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia.
⁴ Laboratory of Genetics, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; GABBA, Instituto Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, University of Porto, Portugal.
⁵ Laboratory of Genetics, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
⁶ Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
⁷ Department of Chemical Physiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
⁸ Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA; Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
⁹ Laboratory of Genetics, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. Electronic address: leannejones@ucla.edu.

Abstract

Stem cells reside within specialized microenvironments, or niches, that control many aspects of stem cell behavior. Somatic hub cells in the Drosophila testis regulate the behavior of cyst stem cells (CySCs) and germline stem cells (GSCs) and are a primary component of the testis stem cell niche. The shutoff (shof) mutation, characterized by premature loss of GSCs and CySCs, was mapped to a locus encoding the evolutionarily conserved transcription factor Escargot (Esg). Hub cells depleted of Esg acquire CySC characteristics and differentiate as cyst cells, resulting in complete loss of hub cells and eventually CySCs and GSCs, similar to the shof mutant phenotype. We identified Esg-interacting proteins and demonstrate an interaction between Esg and the corepressor C-terminal binding protein (CtBP), which was also required for maintenance of hub cell fate. Our results indicate that niche cells can acquire stem cell properties upon removal of a single transcription factor in vivo.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Alleles
Animals
Cell Lineage
Drosophila / metabolism*
Drosophila Proteins / genetics
Drosophila Proteins / metabolism*
Germ Cells / cytology
Germ Cells / metabolism
Male
Stem Cell Niche*
Stem Cells / cytology*
Stem Cells / metabolism
Testis / cytology*
Transcription Factors / metabolism

Substances

Drosophila Proteins
Transcription Factors
esg protein, Drosophila

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding