The Arabidopsis stomatal lineage is a microcosm of development; it undergoes selection of precursor cells, asymmetric and stem cell-like divisions, cell commitment and finally, acquisition of terminal cell fates. Recent transcriptomic approaches revealed major shifts in gene expression accompanying each fate transition, and mechanistic analysis of key bHLH transcription factors, along with mathematical modeling, has begun to unravel how these major shifts are coordinated. In addition, stomatal initiation is proving to be a tractable model for defining the genetic and epigenetic basis of stable cell identities and for understanding the integration of environmental responses into developmental programs.

Establishment and maintenance of functional stem cells is critical for organ development and tissue homeostasis. Little is known about the mechanisms underlying stem establishment during organogenesis. Drosophila testes are among the most thoroughly characterized systems for studying stem cell behavior, with germline stem cells (GSCs) and somatic cyst stem cells (CySCs) cohabiting a discrete stem cell niche at the testis apex. GSCs and CySCs are arrayed around hub cells that also comprise the niche and communication between hub cells, GSCs, and CySCs regulates the balance between stem cell maintenance and differentiation. Recent data has shown that functional, asymmetrically dividing GSCs are first established at ~23 hrs after egg laying during Drosophila testis morphogenesis (Sheng et al., 2009). This process correlates with coalescence of the hub, but development of CySCs from somatic gonadal precursors (SGPs) was not examined. Here, we show that functional CySCs are present at the time of GSC establishment, and that Jak-STAT signaling is necessary and sufficient for CySC maintenance shortly thereafter. Furthermore, hyper-activation of Jak in CySCs promotes expansion of the GSC population, while ectopic Jak activation in the germline induces GSC gene expression in GSC daughter cells but does not prevent spermatogenic differentiation. Together, these observations indicate that, similar to adult testes, Jak-STAT signaling from the hub acts on both GSCs and CySC to regulate their development and differentiation, and that additional signaling from CySCs to the GSCs play a dominant role in controlling GSC maintenance during niche formation.

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Stem cells are responsible for generating all of the differentiated cells, tissues, and organs in a multicellular organism and, thus, play a crucial role in cell renewal, regeneration, and organization. A number of stem cell type-specific genes have a known role in stem cell maintenance, identity, and/or division. Yet, how genes expressed across different stem cell types, referred to here as stem-cell-ubiquitous genes, contribute to stem cell regulation is less understood. Here, we find that, in the Arabidopsis root, a stem-cell-ubiquitous gene, TESMIN-LIKE CXC2 (TCX2), controls stem cell division by regulating stem cell-type specific networks. Development of a mathematical model of TCX2 expression allows us to show that TCX2 orchestrates the coordinated division of different stem cell types. Our results highlight that genes expressed across different stem cell types ensure cross-communication among cells, allowing them to divide and develop harmonically together.