Identification of slow-cycling germline stem cells and their regulation by PLZF

Long-term maintenance of spermatogenesis in mammals is supported by GDNF, an essential growth factor required for spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) self-renewal. Exploiting a transgenic GDNF overexpression model, which expands and normalizes the pool of undifferentiated spermatogonia between Plzf+/+ and Plzflu/lu mice, we used RNAseq to identify a rare subpopulation of cells that express EOMES, a T-box transcription factor. Lineage tracing and busulfan challenge show that these are long-term SSCs that contribute to steady state spermatogenesis as well as regeneration following chemical injury. EOMES+ SSCs have a lower proliferation index than EOMES- GFRA1+ spermatogonia in wild-type but not in Plzflu/lu mice. This comparison demonstrates that PLZF regulates their proliferative activity and suggests that EOMES+ SSCs are lost through proliferative exhaustion in Plzflu/lu mice. Single cell RNA sequencing of EOMES+ cells from Plzf+/+ and Plzflu/lu mice support a hierarchical model of both slow- and rapid-cycling SSCs.