由Piwi蛋白所定义的一类全新的进化保守基因对于干细胞自我更新至关重要。
A novel class of evolutionarily conserved genes defined by piwi are essential for stem cell self-renewal.
作者信息
Cox D N, Chao A, Baker J, Chang L, Qiao D, Lin H
机构信息
Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710 USA.
出版信息
Genes Dev. 1998 Dec 1;12(23):3715-27. doi: 10.1101/gad.12.23.3715.
Germ-line stem cells (GSCs) serve as the source for gametogenesis in diverse organisms. We cloned and characterized the Drosophila piwi gene and showed that it is required for the asymmetric division of GSCs to produce and maintain a daughter GSC but is not essential for the further differentiation of the committed daughter cell. Genetic mosaic and RNA in situ analyses suggest that piwi expression in adjacent somatic cells regulates GSC division. piwi encodes a highly basic novel protein, well conserved during evolution. We isolated piwi homologs in Caenorhabditis elegans and humans and also identified Arabidopsis piwi-like genes known to be required for meristem cell maintenance. Decreasing C. elegans piwi expression reduces the proliferation of GSC-equivalent cells. Thus, piwi represents a novel class of genes required for GSC division in diverse organisms.
生殖系干细胞（GSCs）是多种生物体中配子发生的来源。我们克隆并鉴定了果蝇的Piwi基因，结果表明，该基因对于生殖系干细胞不对称分裂以产生并维持子代生殖系干细胞是必需的，但对于已分化子代细胞的进一步分化并非必不可少。遗传嵌合体和RNA原位分析表明，相邻体细胞中的Piwi表达调节生殖系干细胞的分裂。Piwi编码一种高度碱性的新型蛋白质，在进化过程中高度保守。我们在秀丽隐杆线虫和人类中分离出了Piwi同源物，还鉴定出了已知对分生组织细胞维持所必需的拟南芥Piwi样基因。降低秀丽隐杆线虫Piwi的表达会减少等效于生殖系干细胞的细胞的增殖。因此，Piwi代表了多种生物体中生殖系干细胞分裂所需的一类新基因。
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