Modular regulation of the stem cell transcriptome defines self-renewal, differentiation, and dedifferentiation.

ABSTRACT: Adult stem cells maintain tissue homeostasis by balancing self-renewal and differentiation. Stem cells themselves are frequently replenished by dedifferentiation of partially differentiated progeny. It is a paradox how stem cells and progeny retain the same potential to be or become stem cells, while undergoing different trajectories of self-renewal, differentiation, and dedifferentiation. Here, we show that Drosophila male germline stem cells (GSCs) solve this paradox via two parallel mechanisms. First, differentiating progeny (spermatogonia) may maintain dedifferentiation-competence by inheriting the transcriptome from GSCs in the form of perdurant mRNA, without actively transcribing these genes. Second, two niche signaling pathways (Bmp and Jak-Stat) activate overlapping but distinct su

SUBMITTER: Raz A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12047862 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature