Drosophila Stem Cell Niches: A Decade of Discovery Suggests a Unified View of Stem Cell Regulation

The past decade of research on Drosophila stem cells and niches has provided key insights. Fly stem cells do not occupy a special “state” based on novel “stem cell genes” but resemble transiently arrested tissue progenitors. Moreover, individual stem cells and downstream progenitors are highly dynam...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Developmental cell 2011-07, Vol.21 (1), p.159-171
Main Authors: Losick, Vicki P., Morris, Lucy X., Fox, Donald T., Spradling, Allan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Cell differentiation, maturation, development, hematopoiesis
Cell physiology
Drosophila - cytology
Drosophila - metabolism
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Molecular and cellular biology
Stem Cell Niche - cytology
Stem Cell Niche - metabolism
Stem Cells - cytology
Stem Cells - metabolism
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Summary:The past decade of research on Drosophila stem cells and niches has provided key insights. Fly stem cells do not occupy a special “state” based on novel “stem cell genes” but resemble transiently arrested tissue progenitors. Moreover, individual stem cells and downstream progenitors are highly dynamic and dispensable, not tissue bulwarks. Niches, rather than fixed cell lineages, ensure tissue health by holding stem cells and repressing cell differentiation inside, but not outside. We review the five best-understood adult Drosophila stem cells and argue that the fundamental biology of stem cells and niches is conserved between Drosophila and mice.
ISSN:1534-5807
1878-1551
DOI:10.1016/j.devcel.2011.06.018