Stem cells propagate their DNA by random segregation in the flatworm Macrostomum lignano.

ABSTRACT: Adult stem cells are proposed to have acquired special features to prevent an accumulation of DNA-replication errors. Two such mechanisms, frequently suggested to serve this goal are cellular quiescence, and non-random segregation of DNA strands during stem cell division, a theory designated as the immortal strand hypothesis. To date, it has been difficult to test the in vivo relevance of both mechanisms in stem cell systems. It has been shown that in the flatworm Macrostomum lignano pluripotent stem cells (neoblasts) are present in adult animals. We sought to address by which means M. lignano neoblasts protect themselves against the accumulation of genomic errors, by studying the exact mode of DNA-segregation during their division. In this study, we demonstrated four lines of in vivo evid

SUBMITTER: Verdoodt F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3261893 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature