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Autonomous differentiation of Drosophila spermatogonia in vitro
Author(s) -
Kawamoto Tatsuya,
Kawai Keita,
Kodama Tatsuji,
Yokokura Tomohiro,
Niki Yuzo
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
development, growth and differentiation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.864
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1440-169X
pISSN - 0012-1592
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-169x.2008.01060.x
Subject(s) - spermatogenesis , biology , germline , sperm , somatic cell , in vitro , microbiology and biotechnology , larva , andrology , anatomy , genetics , endocrinology , ecology , gene , medicine
Spermatogenesis is a complex process that produces functional sperm by establishing male germline stem cells (mGSCs) in adult testes. To study Drosophila spermatogenesis in vitro , we examined various culture conditions of spermatogonia. Spermatogonia from larval testes began to differentiate soon after culture, whereas mGSCs did not undergo self‐renewal division. Strikingly, 16‐cell spermatogonia from early and late larval testes differentiated into motile spermatids autonomously. Furthermore, individual spermatogonia developed into motile spermatids even after mechanical dissociation from encapsulating cyst cells. This is the first study to report that spermatogonia in larval testes retain the ability to differentiate into spermatids in the absence of gonadal tissue. Our in vitro system should provide an excellent opportunity to study spermatogenesis in detail and apply genetic manipulation.