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Updated: Mar 23, 2026

Cell Aggregation Assays to Evaluate the Binding of the Drosophila Notch with Trans-Ligands and its Inhibition by Cis-Ligands
Published on: January 2, 2018
Transposon Dysregulation Modulates dWnt4 Signaling to Control Germline Stem Cell Differentiation in Drosophila
Maitreyi Upadhyay1, Yesenia Martino Cortez1,2, SiuWah Wong-Deyrup1
1Department of Biological Sciences/RNA Institute, University at Albany SUNY, Albany, New York, United States of America.
Abstract:
Germline stem cell (GSC) self-renewal and differentiation are required for the sustained production of gametes. GSC differentiation in Drosophila oogenesis requires expression of the histone methyltransferase dSETDB1 by the somatic niche, however its function in this process is unknown. Here, we show that dSETDB1 is required for the expression of a Wnt ligand, Drosophila Wingless type mouse mammary virus integration site number 4 (dWnt4) in the somatic niche. dWnt4 signaling acts on the somatic niche cells to facilitate their encapsulation of the GSC daughter, which serves as a differentiation cue. dSETDB1 is known to repress transposable elements (TEs) to maintain genome integrity. Unexpectedly, we found that independent upregulation of TEs also downregulated dWnt4, leading to GSC differentiation defects. This suggests that dWnt4 expression is sensitive to the presence of TEs. Together our results reveal a chromatin-transposon-Wnt signaling axis that regulates stem cell fate.
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