Paper Review

Recently, a new paper published in Developmental Cell, titled “Genomic evolution reshapes cell-type diversification in the amniote brain,” offers groundbreaking insights into the genomic evolution reshaping cell-type diversification in the amniote brain. The research constructs a cross-species single-cell atlas, analyzing over 1.3 million cells from the brains of turtles, pigeons, zebra finches, mice, and macaques. This atlas elucidates both conserved and divergent patterns of cell-type evolution across amniotes.

The research of brain evolution across amniotes has long been a challenging endeavor, with significant gaps in our understanding of how cell-type diversification has evolved over time. Previous research has been constrained by the absence of comprehensive single-cell atlases and standardized methods for comparing cell types across distantly related species.

Stereo-seq - high resolution spatial whole transcriptome profiling technology played a pivotal role in verifying spatial expression patterns across key brain regions in this paper. The study identifies genomic evolution, particularly through gene family expansion and divergence, as a pivotal driver of brain cell-type diversity. Mutations in paralogous genes, such as SLC17A6 and SLC17A7, result in species-specific expression patterns in excitatory neurons, with birds predominantly expressing SLC17A6 and mammals SLC17A7. A notable discovery is a novel Purkinje cell subtype (SVIL+) in birds, distinct from mammalian subtypes, associated with genes linked to circadian rhythms and learning. This subtype likely supports behaviors like flight and navigation. The processed Stereo-seq data are available for download via STOmicsDB: https://db.cngb.org/cdcp/absna/, and the materials used are commercially available, making this technology accessible for further research. The study has broad implications for understanding how genetic diversity translates into functional diversity, with potential applications in neuroscience, comparative genomics, and evolutionary biology.

Find out more about the study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1534580725002527?via%3Dihub

About STOmics Stereo-seq:

STOmics offers the most advanced spatiotemporal multi-omics technology, enabling unbiased discovery to answer biological questions in scientific research and clinical applications. Currently, we offer spatial transcriptomics solutions, including Stereo-seq v1.3 for fresh frozen samples, Stereo-seq OMNI for FFPE samples, Stereo-seq Large Chip Designs (LCD) for centimeter-level fresh frozen samples (now up to 2cm x 3cm), and a spatial multi-omics solution - Stereo-CITE for high-plex spatial proteo-transcriptome co-detection. https://en.stomics.tech/

#Neuroscience #Evolution #SingleCell #Genomics #BrainResearch #ComparativeBiology #Spatialbiology #STOmics #Stereoseq