Members in the Bach Lab have shown that Hedgehog (Hh) from the Drosophila testis niche is a self-renewal factor for cyst stem cells (CySCs) and that Hh signaling does not contribute to the role of CySCs as a niche for germ line stem cells (GSCs).  This supports the model that the Hh and Jak/Stat pathways act independently within CySCs. The paper is published in the January 2013 issue of Development.  

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Hedgehog is required for CySC self-renewal but does not contribute to the GSC niche in the Drosophila testis