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Free keywords:
aging; adult stem cell; self-renewal; differentiation; evolution
Abstract:
How distinct stem cell populations originate and whether there is a clear stem cell “genetic signature” remain poorly understood.
Understanding the evolution of stem cells requires molecular profiling of stem cells in an animal at a basal phylogenetic position.
In this study, using transgenic Hydra polyps, we reveal for each of the three stem cell populations a specific signature set
of transcriptions factors and of genes playing key roles in cell type-specific function and interlineage communication.
Our data show that principal functions of stem cell genes, such as maintenance of stemness and control of stem cell self-renewal
and differentiation, arose very early in metazoan evolution. They are corroborating the view that stem cell types shared common,
multifunctional ancestors, which achieved complexity through a stepwise segregation of function in daughter cells.
