title: Ecdysteroids affect Drosophila ovarian stem cell niche formation and early germline differentiation.
abstract: Previously, it has been shown that in Drosophila steroid hormones are required for progression of oogenesis during late stages of egg maturation. Here, we show that ecdysteroids regulate progression through the early steps of germ cell lineage. Upon ecdysone signalling deficit germline stem cell progeny delay to switch on a differentiation programme. This differentiation impediment is associated with reduced TGF-β signalling in the germline and increased levels of cell adhesion complexes and cytoskeletal proteins in somatic escort cells. A co-activator of the ecdysone receptor, Taiman is the spatially restricted regulator of the ecdysone signalling pathway in soma. Additionally, when ecdysone signalling is perturbed during the process of somatic stem cell niche establishment enlarged functional niches able to host additional stem cells are formed.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Research Group of Gene Expression and Signaling, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Annekatrin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: König
authors.forename: Andriy S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Yatsenko
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Halyna R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Shcherbata
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D019070:Cell Lineage; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D026461:Ecdysteroids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D009866:Oogenesis / Q000187:drug effects; D010053:Ovary / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D055153:Stem Cell Niche; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D026461:Ecdysteroids; C422002:TAI protein, Drosophila; D014157:Transcription Factors; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta