The histone variant His2Av is required for adult stem cell maintenance in the Drosophila testis.
Many tissues are sustained by adult stem cells, which replace lost cells by differentiation and maintain their own population through self-renewal. The mechanisms through which adult stem cells maintain their identity are thus important for tissue homeostasis and repair throughout life. Here, we show that a histone variant, His2Av, is required cell autonomously for maintenance of germline and cyst stem cells in the Drosophila testis. The ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling factor Domino is also required in this tissue for adult stem cell maintenance possibly by regulating the incorporation of His2Av into chromatin. Interestingly, although expression of His2Av was ubiquitous, its function was dispensable for germline and cyst cell differentiation, suggesting a specific role for this non-canonical histone in maintaining the stem cell state in these lineages.
Department of Developmental Biology, Stanford University, School of Medicine Stanford, California, United States of America.
Jose Rafael
JR
Morillo Prado
Shrividhya
S
Srinivasan
Margaret T
MT
Fuller
D053687:Adult Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics; D005854:Germ Cells; D006657:Histones / Q000235:genetics*; D006706:Homeostasis; D008297:Male; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D006657:Histones; D014157:Transcription Factors; C499600:dom protein, Drosophila