Mechanisms of niche – stem cell unit origin and maintenance (A11)

干细胞生态位是维持植物和动物中每一个干细胞群体的干性的关键。尽管干细胞-生态位相互作用在干细胞生物学中具有重要的作用，但在器官形成过程中，体细胞干细胞和生态位是如何结合在一起的却知之甚少。在之前的资助期内，我们使用鱼侧线系统的感觉器官神经杆作为最小模型来探索器官发生过程中生态位-干细胞的相互作用。现在，我们将利用该系统结合我们在4D成像和谱系分析方面的专业知识以及获得新的RNAseq数据，在分子水平上解决生态位形成问题，以确定在稳态和扰动条件下生态位诱导和维持的关键分子决定因素。

The stem cell niche is key to maintain stemness in every stem cell population reported in plants and animals. Despite the essential function of stem cell - niche interaction in stem cell biology, little is known about how somatic stem cells and niche get together during organ formation. In the previous funding period, we used neuromasts, sensory organs of the lateral line system in fish, as a minimal model to explore niche-stem cell interaction during organogenesis. We will now exploit this system to address niche formation at the molecular level by combining our expertise in 4D imaging and lineage analysis with the acquisition of new RNAseq data, to identify molecular determinants critical for niche induction and maintenance during homeostasis and perturbed conditions.