Specification and spatial arrangement of cells in the germline stem cell niche of the Drosophila ovary depend on the Maf transcription factor Traffic jam.
Germline stem cells in the Drosophila ovary are maintained by a somatic niche.The niche is structurally and functionally complex and contains four cell types, the escort, cap, and terminal filament cells and the newly identified transition cell.We find that the large Maf transcription factor Traffic jam (Tj) is essential for determining niche cell