Communication between cells is a highly regulated process that requires selective control of signaling events to ensure proper development of tissues. Within all metazoans there exist conserved signaling pathways between different cell types that eventually give rise to specialized cells. While the mechanisms of these signaling pathways have been well characterized through the use of model organisms, how these signaling events define specific cellular contexts still requires further study. The Drosophila melanogaster gonad is a well-studied model and provides a genetically tractable platform to ask basic developmental questions using genetic, molecular, and biochemical tools. In both male and female gonads, germline and somatic cells are closely associated with one another and must employ various signaling events in order to eventually form sperm and eggs respectively. Two such signaling events that regulate cell maintenance in the germline and somatic cell lineages are the focus of this study. Chapter 1 reviews one of the most highly conserved signaling pathways: Notch (N), Drosophila gonadogenesis, and current understanding of N in the gonads. Chapter 2 discusses the novel role N serves in the Drosophila testes in modulating germline-soma interactions. Chapter 3 looks at how the COP9 signalosome (CSN) acts through the Cullin RING ubiquitin ligase (CRL) complexes to regulate the germline microenvironment.