TY - JOUR TI - Transient nuclear Prospero induces neural progenitor quiescence AU - Lai, Sen-Lin AU - Doe, Chris Q A2 - Brand, Andrea VL - 3 PY - 2014 DA - 2014/10/29 SP - e03363 C1 - eLife 2014;3:e03363 DO - 10.7554/eLife.03363 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03363 AB - Stem cells can self-renew, differentiate, or enter quiescence. Understanding how stem cells switch between these states is highly relevant for stem cell-based therapeutics. Drosophila neural progenitors (neuroblasts) have been an excellent model for studying self-renewal and differentiation, but quiescence remains poorly understood. In this study, we show that when neuroblasts enter quiescence, the differentiation factor Prospero is transiently detected in the neuroblast nucleus, followed by the establishment of a unique molecular profile lacking most progenitor and differentiation markers. The pulse of low level nuclear Prospero precedes entry into neuroblast quiescence even when the timing of quiescence is advanced or delayed by changing temporal identity factors. Furthermore, loss of Prospero prevents entry into quiescence, whereas a pulse of low level nuclear Prospero can drive proliferating larval neuroblasts into quiescence. We propose that Prospero levels distinguish three progenitor fates: absent for self-renewal, low for quiescence, and high for differentiation. KW - quiescence KW - prospero KW - neural progenitor JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -