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. 2003 Nov 25;100(24):14042-5.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.2235591100. Epub 2003 Nov 10.

Ovarian cystocytes can repopulate the embryonic germ line and produce functional gametes

Yuzo Niki  1 , Anthony P Mahowald
Affiliations

Ovarian cystocytes can repopulate the embryonic germ line and produce functional gametes

Yuzo Niki et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. .

Abstract

Ovarian tumors are formed either in the absence of Bam (bag-of-marbles) in germ-line cells or the overexpression of Dpp (decapentaplegic) in ovarian somatic cells. These tumor cells contain spectrosomes characteristic of ovarian germ-line stem cells and the immediate descendents called cystoblasts. We show that pole cells can successfully populate the gonad after transplantation to the dorsal mesoderm of host embryos following germ-band extension. By using this approach, we demonstrate that bam- cells can populate the gonad and become established as germ-line stem cells. Tumor cells containing the wild-type bam gene under heat shock transcriptional control are able to produce functional oocytes. Thus, stem cells/cystoblasts of the adult ovary are capable of forming stem cells in the embryonic ovary and recapitulating the development of the female germ line.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Diagrams of early gastrulation and postgastrulation stages of Drosophila development to illustrate the formation and migration of pole cells into the embryonic gonad. At stage 5, the pole cells form at the posterior tip of the blastoderm embryo. The blastoderm cells below the pole cells form the precursor of the posterior midgut invagination. At stage 7 the germ band has extended around the posterior tip of the embryo, pushing the posterior midgut invagination, within which are located the pole cells, anteriorly along the dorsal side of the embryo. At stage 11 the pole cells migrate out of the midgut lumen into the dorsal mesoderm. When tumor cells are transplanted at this stage, both gonads might become populated by tumor cells, indicating that a clear left–right boundary does not exist at this time. At stage 12 the germ band is undergoing contraction, resulting in the posterior movement of the abdominal segments. During this time the gonadal mesodermal cells are aggregating to form the embryonic gonad. At stage 15 germ-band contraction is complete and the embryonic gonad has formed. [Reproduced with permission from Rongo et al. (24) (Copyright 1997, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories).]
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
A pair of ovaries derived from oskar embryos that had received ovarian tumor cells from bam–;ovo–lacZ+ flies. One ovary has no germ cells (the residual β-galactosidase activity is due to native Drosophila activity), whereas the other has many ovarioles filled with LacZ+ tumor cells, indicating that the transplanted cells had populated the embryonic gonad and formed stem cells in several ovarioles.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Graph representing the frequency of fertile flies after heat shock treatment of flies homozygous for p[hsp-bam+] bamΔ86 (▪) and carrying p[hsp-bam+] bamΔ86/bamΔ86 ovo-lacZ (•), respectively. Fertility is equivalently restored in flies with either one or two copies of the hsp-bam+ transgene.
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