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Regulatory Mechanisms of the Germline Stem Cell Niche in Drosophila melanogaster

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Reproductive and Developmental Strategies

Part of the book series: Diversity and Commonality in Animals ((DCA))

Abstract

Stem cells possess the unique ability to produce both self-renewing and differentiating daughter cells continuously throughout an animal’s lifespan. Understanding the mechanisms that regulate proper stem cell maintenance is a central issue in basic biology and medical science. Since the stem cell niche hypothesis arose in the late 1970s, it has been widely believed that stem cells are maintained within a specialized extracellular microenvironment known as the niche. Germline stem cells (GSCs) in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, provide an excellent model for study of the stem cell niche in vivo. The first molecular components constituting the Drosophila ovarian GSC niche were identified in 1998. Since that time, identification of niche components and our understanding of how the niche maintains stem cells have continued to progress. In this review, we introduce how the niche maintains GSCs, as well as how the niche itself is precisely formed in the tissue. In addition, we discuss recent findings showing that the state of the host organism, including nutrient status and aging, affects niche function and stem cell maintenance.

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Acknowledgements

The authors apologize to researchers whose pertinent work could not be cited due to space limitations. Research in our laboratory is supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI) on Innovative Areas (#26116730), KAKENHI for Young Scientists (A) (#25711020) to Y.H., and KAKENHI on Innovative Areas (#25114002) to S. K.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Life Science Center for Survival Dynamics, Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance (TARA), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Yoshiki Hayashi & Satoru Kobayashi

Authors
  1. Yoshiki Hayashi
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  2. Satoru Kobayashi
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Correspondence to Yoshiki Hayashi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Hirosaki University, Hirosaki, Japan

    Kazuya Kobayashi

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science and Technology Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan

    Takeshi Kitano

  3. Laboratory of Reproductive Developmental Biology, Division of Earth Sciences, Biology, and Chemistry, Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for Innovation Yamaguchi University, Yamaguchi, Japan

    Yasuhiro Iwao

  4. Misaki Marine Biological Station, Graduate School of Science The University of Tokyo, Miura, Japan

    Mariko Kondo

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Hayashi, Y., Kobayashi, S. (2018). Regulatory Mechanisms of the Germline Stem Cell Niche in Drosophila melanogaster . In: Kobayashi, K., Kitano, T., Iwao, Y., Kondo, M. (eds) Reproductive and Developmental Strategies. Diversity and Commonality in Animals. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-56609-0_2

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