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In response to T-dependent Ag, germinal centers (GC) generate bone marrow–resident plasma cells (BMPC) and memory B cells (MBC). In this study, we demonstrate that the bone morphogenetic protein receptor 1A (BMPR1A) signaling pathway, which regulates differentiation and self-renewal in multiple stem cell populations, regulates GC dynamics and resultant establishment of BMPC and MBC. Expression studies using quantitative PCR and novel Bmpr1a. IRES. EGFP reporter mice demonstrated that Bmpr1a expression is upregulated among GC B cells (GCBC) and subsets of MBC, bone marrow plasmablasts, and BMPC. In immunized mice carrying B cell–targeted Bmpr1a gene deletions, the GC response was initially diminished. Subsequently, the GCBC compartment recovered in size, concurrent with accumulation of GCBC that carried unmodified rather than deleted Bmpr1a alleles. Similarly, the resulting …