{"database":"biostudies-literature","file_versions":[],"scores":null,"additional":{"submitter":["Gao Y"],"funding":["European Research Council","Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee","Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee (RGC, UGC)","General Research Fund","Peter und Traudl Engelhorn Foundation","Max-Planck-Gesellschaft"],"pagination":["9868"],"full_dataset_link":["https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC11564870"],"repository":["biostudies-literature"],"omics_type":["Unknown"],"volume":["15(1)"],"pubmed_abstract":["Stem cells are a hallmark of animal multicellularity. Sox and POU transcription factors are associated with stemness and were believed to be animal innovations, reported absent in their unicellular relatives. Here we describe unicellular Sox and POU factors. Choanoflagellate and filasterean Sox proteins have DNA-binding specificity similar to mammalian Sox2. Choanoflagellate-but not filasterean-Sox can replace Sox2 to reprogram mouse somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) through interacting with the mouse POU member Oct4. In contrast, choanoflagellate POU has a distinct DNA-binding profile and cannot generate iPSCs. Ancestrally reconstructed Sox proteins indicate that iPSC formation capacity is pervasive among resurrected sequences, thus loss of Sox2-like properties fos"],"journal":["Nature communications"],"pubmed_title":["The emergence of Sox and POU transcription factors predates the origins of animal stem cells."],"pmcid":["PMC11564870"],"funding_grant_id":["C7064-22G","950230"],"pubmed_authors":["Yeung SW","Yan J","Jauch R","de Mendoza A","Xie Q","Zhou X","Tan DS","Lee KS","Ho SY","Hu H","Gao Y","Cojocaru V","Girbig M","Hochberg GKA"],"additional_accession":[]},"is_claimable":false,"name":"The emergence of Sox and POU transcription factors predates the origins of animal stem cells.","description":"Stem cells are a hallmark of animal multicellularity. Sox and POU transcription factors are associated with stemness and were believed to be animal innovations, reported absent in their unicellular relatives. Here we describe unicellular Sox and POU factors. Choanoflagellate and filasterean Sox proteins have DNA-binding specificity similar to mammalian Sox2. Choanoflagellate-but not filasterean-Sox can replace Sox2 to reprogram mouse somatic cells into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) through interacting with the mouse POU member Oct4. In contrast, choanoflagellate POU has a distinct DNA-binding profile and cannot generate iPSCs. Ancestrally reconstructed Sox proteins indicate that iPSC formation capacity is pervasive among resurrected sequences, thus loss of Sox2-like properties fos","dates":{"release":"2024-01-01T00:00:00Z","publication":"2024 Nov","modification":"2026-06-02T03:36:19.25Z","creation":"2025-04-04T12:01:23.277Z"},"accession":"S-EPMC11564870","cross_references":{"pubmed":["39543096"],"doi":["10.1038/s41467-024-54152-x"]}}