Genetic analyses using the fruit fly illustrate how neuronal system couples germline stem cell increase to an external cue, which is mating, through stem cell niche signaling.
C. elegans germline stem cells become quiescent under starved conditions, and this quiescence maintains the stem cell state even in the absence of GLP-1/Notch signaling, which is otherwise essential for stem cell maintenance.
JNK pathway activity induces spermatogonial dedifferentiation under challenging conditions to maintain the germline stem cell pool and to endow it with potentially fitter cells that have increased proliferation.
Complementary effects of FBF-1 and FBF-2 on germline stem cell dynamics result from their distinct cooperation with mRNA deadenylase resulting in the opposite effects on the shared target mRNAs.
Microtubule-depolymerizing kinesin, Klp10A, prevents overgrowth of the mother centrosome to prevent undesirable asymmetries during asymmetric divisions of Drosophila male germline stem cells.
Germ cell ablation delays C. elegans aging, in part, because unconsumed fat triggers activation of the detoxification factor SKN-1/Nrf, which is regulated by lipid signals and maintains lipid homeostasis.
Post-transcriptional control by YTHDC2 is required to turn off the mitotic proliferation program and facilitate proper expression of the meiotic program to allow a clean cell fate transition in the germline stem cell lineage.