Abstract
Niches have traditionally been characterised as signalling microenvironments that allow stem cells to maintain their fate. This definition implicitly assumes that the various niche signals are integrated towards a binary fate decision between stemness and differentiation. However, observations in multiple systems have demonstrated that stem cell properties, such as proliferation and self-renewal, can be uncoupled at the level of niche signalling input, which is incompatible with this simplified view. We have studied the role of the transcriptional regulator Zfh1, a shared target of the Hedgehog and Jak/Stat niche signalling pathways, in the somatic stem cells of the Drosophila testis. We found that Zfh1 binds and downregulates salvador and kibra, two tumour suppressor genes of the Hippo/Wts/Yki pathway, thereby restricting Yki activation and proliferation to the Zfh1+ stem cells. These observations provide an unbroken link from niche signal input to an individual aspect of stem cell behaviour that does not, at any step, involve a fate decision. We discuss the relevance of these findings for an overall concept of stemness and niche function.
