Aldh1a1 is not required for peripheral nervous system stem cell maintenance or function. Outer muscle/plexus layer cells from the guts of young (2-3 months) and old (24-27 months) Aldh1a1^+/− () and Aldh1a1^−/− () mice were cultured. Aldh1a1 deficiency did not affect the frequency of neurospheres (A), neurosphere diameter after 9 to 11 days in culture (B), neurosphere differentiation (C,D), or the capacity of primary neurospheres to form multipotent secondary neurospheres upon subcloning (E). Colonies were assessed for the presence of neurons (N), glia (G), and myofibroblasts (M). All data represent a total of 3 to 8 mice per treatment, in at least 3 independent experiments. Error bars represent SD.