| Cell division must be tightly regulated through both developmental programming and environmental conditions. One of the central foci of cancer research over the last decade has been the analysis of stem cells and their corresponding niche and how these specialized cells contribute to tumourigenesis. The germline stem cells of Caenorhabditis elegans, which are quiescent upon induction of dauer, were used here to study genetic responses in cell cycle regulation to environmental conditions during larval development. Global RNAi screening implicated a number of genes involved in regulating polarity and cytoskeletal function in the maintenance of cellular arrest in non-polarized germ cells. Further, the Notch signaling pathway, which promotes mitotic cell divisions in the germ cells, was shown to be inactive during dauer due to a novel mechanism involving Notch receptor relocalization. Further investigations into these pathways will advance our understanding of how these mechanisms have an impact in human disease. |
