(A and A′) The germline stem cell (GSC) niche in ovaries is made up of two somatic cell types: eight to nine cells in a single-filed array make up the terminal filament (TF), and a tight cluster of five or six cap cells (CpC) directly contacts the GSCs

In A′, a reporter marks the TF and CpC cluster. The positions of two GSCs are noted with dotted circles. (B and C) The enhancer trap expresses GAL4 in the CpC and TF of the stem cell niche (green). In B, ovaries were stained for β-galactosidase (green) and Vasa (red), a germline marker. (C) A germarium counterstained with DAPI (red). Not all of the niche cells show the same level of expression, regardless of the marker used. Because the RanBPM protein is expressed in all niche cells (see D), we believe this is an artifact of the enhancer trap or the UAS-Gal4 system. (D) The long RanBPM isoform, which is visualized with an isoform-specific antibody (RanBPM-N, green), is specifically enriched in the CpC and TF. A reporter marks the CpC cluster (red). (E) In pupal ovaries, RanBPM-N staining (green) is enriched at the TF cell membranes. Hts (red) marks the fusomes of germline cysts and cell membranes. (F) As a negative control, pupal ovaries from were stained with the N-terminal antibody. The absence of signal shows the specificity of the RanBPM-N signal in the stem cell niche. Bars: (A′, C, and D) 10 μm; (B) 30 μm; (E and F) 50 μm.

Copyright information:

Taken from "RanBPM regulates cell shape, arrangement, and capacity of the female germline stem cell niche in "

The Journal of Cell Biology 2008;182(5):963-977.

Published online 8 Sep 2008

PMCID:PMC2528568.