Abstract:
In animals, stem cell populations of varying potency facilitate regeneration and tissue homeostasis. Notably, germline stem cells in both vertebrates and invertebrates express highly conserved RNA binding proteins, such as nanos, vasa, and piwi. In highly regenerative animals, these genes are also expressed in somatic stem cells, which led to the proposal that they had an ancestral role in all stem cells. In cnidarians, multi- and pluripotent interstitial stem cells have only been identified in hydrozoans. Therefore, it is currently unclear if cnidarian stem cell systems share a common evolutionary origin. We, therefore, aimed to characterize conserved stem cell marker genes in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. Through transgenic reporter genes and single-cell transcriptomics, we identify cell populations expressing the germline-associated markers piwi1 and nanos2 in the soma and germline, and gene knockout shows that Nanos2 is indispensable for germline formation. This suggests that nanos and piwi genes have a conserved role in somatic and germline stem cells in cnidarians.
摘要:
在动物中,不同效力的干细胞群促进再生和组织稳态。值得注意的是,脊椎动物和无脊椎动物的生殖系干细胞表达高度保守的RNA结合蛋白,比如nanos,vasa,还有Piwi.在高度再生的动物中,这些基因也在体干细胞中表达,这导致了他们在所有干细胞中都有祖先作用的提议。在cnidarians中,多能和多能间质干细胞仅在水生动物中被鉴定。因此,目前尚不清楚刺胞干细胞系统是否具有共同的进化起源.我们,因此,旨在表征海葵线虫中保守的干细胞标记基因。通过转基因报告基因和单细胞转录组学,我们鉴定了在体细胞和种系中表达种系相关标记piwi1和nanos2的细胞群,基因敲除表明Nanos2对于种系形成是必不可少的。这表明nanos和piwi基因在刺胞动物的体细胞和种系干细胞中具有保守作用。