title: Escargot restricts niche cell to stem cell conversion in the Drosophila testis.
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.
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Voog
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genetics, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Sharsti L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Sandall
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Gary R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Hime
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genetics, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA; GABBA, Instituto Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, University of Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Luís Pedro F
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Resende
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Mariano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Loza-Coll
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aslanian
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Physiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Yates
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: Margaret T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.affiliation: 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.
authors.forename: D Leanne
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D019070:Cell Lineage; D004330:Drosophila / Q000378:metabolism*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D055153:Stem Cell Niche; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D013737:Testis / Q000166:cytology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C467520:esg protein, Drosophila