A Transient Niche Regulates the Specification of Drosophila Intestinal Stem Cells

Niche Metamorphosis The gut epithelium is continually renewed by cells generated from intestinal stem cells. In the fruit fly Drosophila , cells of the adult gut are derived from cells set aside before metamorphosis. Mathur et al. (p. 210 ) now show that an early asymmetric cell division in larval stages establishes a niche that encloses a proliferating group of undifferentiated stem cells. At metamorphosis, the niche breaks down and the stem cells are freed. Most of them differentiate into adult gut progenitors, but a minority takes on the task of establishing a new, adult, stem cell niche with more liberal operating rules.