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Escargot maintains stemness and suppresses differentiation in Drosophila intestinal stem cells
Author(s) -
Korzelius Jerome,
Naumann Svenja K,
LozaColl Mariano A,
Chan Jessica SK,
Dutta Devanjali,
Oberheim Jessica,
Gläßer Christine,
Southall Tony D,
Brand Andrea H,
Jones D Leanne,
Edgar Bruce A
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the embo journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 7.484
H-Index - 392
eISSN - 1460-2075
pISSN - 0261-4189
DOI - 10.15252/embj.201489072
Subject(s) - biology , stem cell , progenitor cell , microbiology and biotechnology , cellular differentiation , ectopic expression , progenitor , adult stem cell , transcription factor , transcriptome , genetics , gene expression , gene
Snail family transcription factors are expressed in various stem cell types, but their function in maintaining stem cell identity is unclear. In the adult Drosophila midgut, the Snail homolog Esg is expressed in intestinal stem cells ( ISC s) and their transient undifferentiated daughters, termed enteroblasts ( EB ). We demonstrate here that loss of esg in these progenitor cells causes their rapid differentiation into enterocytes ( EC ) or entero‐endocrine cells ( EE ). Conversely, forced expression of Esg in intestinal progenitor cells blocks differentiation, locking ISC s in a stem cell state. Cell type‐specific transcriptome analysis combined with Dam‐ ID binding studies identified Esg as a major repressor of differentiation genes in stem and progenitor cells. One critical target of Esg was found to be the POU ‐domain transcription factor, Pdm1, which is normally expressed specifically in differentiated EC s. Ectopic expression of Pdm1 in progenitor cells was sufficient to drive their differentiation into EC s. Hence, Esg is a critical stem cell determinant that maintains stemness by repressing differentiation‐promoting factors, such as Pdm1.