Stem cells

2014
Dong Yan, Ralph A Neumüller, Michael Buckner, Kathleen Ayers, Hua Li, Yanhui Hu, Donghui Yang-Zhou, Lei Pan, Xiaoxi Wang, Colleen Kelley, Arunachalam Vinayagam, Richard Binari, Sakara Randklev, Lizabeth A Perkins, Ting Xie, Lynn Cooley, and Norbert Perrimon. 2014. “A regulatory network of Drosophila germline stem cell self-renewal.” Dev Cell, 28, 4, Pp. 459-73.Abstract

Stem cells possess the capacity to generate two cells of distinct fate upon division: one cell retaining stem cell identity and the other cell destined to differentiate. These cell fates are established by cell-type-specific genetic networks. To comprehensively identify components of these networks, we performed a large-scale RNAi screen in Drosophila female germline stem cells (GSCs) covering ∼25% of the genome. The screen identified 366 genes that affect GSC maintenance, differentiation, or other processes involved in oogenesis. Comparison of GSC regulators with neural stem cell self-renewal factors identifies common and cell-type-specific self-renewal genes. Importantly, we identify the histone methyltransferase Set1 as a GSC-specific self-renewal factor. Loss of Set1 in neural stem cells does not affect cell fate decisions, suggesting a differential requirement of H3K4me3 in different stem cell lineages. Altogether, our study provides a resource that will help to further dissect the networks underlying stem cell self-renewal.

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