Germ cell connectivity enhances cell death in response to DNA damage in the Drosophila testis
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Abstract
Two broadly known characteristics of germ cells in many organisms are their development as a ‘cyst’ of interconnected cells and their high sensitivity to DNA damage. Here we provide evidence that in the Drosophila testis, connectivity serves as a mechanism that confers to spermatogonia a high sensitivity to DNA damage. We show that all spermatogonia within a cyst die synchronously even when only a subset of them exhibit detectable DNA damage. Mutants of the fusome, an organelle that is known to facilitate intracyst communication, compromise synchronous spermatogonial death and reduces overall germ cell death. Our data indicate that a death-promoting signal is shared within the cyst, leading to death of the entire cyst. Taken together, we propose that intercellular connectivity supported by the fusome uniquely increases the sensitivity of the germline to DNA damage, thereby protecting the integrity of gamete genomes that are passed on to the next generation.
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A type of RCD highly reminiscent of lysosome-dependent cell death, dubbed germ cell death, appears to play a critical role in physiological elimination of a fraction of emerging male germ cells at least in D. melanogaster.
“a type of RCD that is highly reminiscent of lysosome-dependent cell death, which has been dubbed “germ cell death”, appears to play a critical role in the physiological elimination of a fraction of emerging male germ cells (at least in D. melanogaster) [753–756].”
From Molecular mechanisms of cell death: recommendations of the nomenclature committee on cell death 2018. (2018) · cites this paper as [755]
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- Authors
- Lu, K. L., & Yamashita, Y. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Michigan (US)
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
- Venue
- eLife
- Publisher
- eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
- Published
- 2017-08-15
- Volume
- 6
- ISSN
- 2050-084X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5577909
- OpenAlex
- W2610617015
- Cited by
- 52
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 3
- FWCI
- 4.76
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- eLife (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R01 GM118308-01)
- National Institute on Aging (F30 AG050398-01A1)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Sperm and Testicular Function
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › DNA Repair Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Cell death mechanisms and regulation
- Keywords
- DNA damage response, spermatogonia, fusome, Drosophila testis, intercellular communication, apoptosis
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Cell Communication, DNA Damage, Drosophila, Germ Cells, Male, Testis, Cell Death
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