PUBLICATION

Single-cell reconstruction of developmental trajectories during zebrafish embryogenesis

Authors
Farrell, J.A., Wang, Y., Riesenfeld, S.J., Shekhar, K., Regev, A., Schier, A.F.
ID
ZDB-PUB-180428-1
Date
2018
Source
Science (New York, N.Y.)   360(6392): (Journal)
Registered Authors
Farrell, Jeffrey, Schier, Alexander
Keywords
none
Datasets
GEO:GSE106474, GEO:GSE106587, GEO:GSE112824, GEO:GSE106466
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Blastula/embryology
  • Blastula/metabolism
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/embryology
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/metabolism
  • Embryonic Development/genetics*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental*
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Signal Transduction
  • Single-Cell Analysis
  • Transcription, Genetic
  • Transcriptome
  • Zebrafish/embryology*
  • Zebrafish/genetics*
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics*
PubMed
29700225 Full text @ Science
Abstract
During embryogenesis, cells acquire distinct fates by transitioning through transcriptional states. To uncover these transcriptional trajectories during zebrafish embryogenesis, we sequenced 38,731 cells and developed URD, a simulated diffusion-based computational reconstruction method. URD identified the trajectories of 25 cell types through early somitogenesis, gene expression along them, and their spatial origin in the blastula. Analysis of Nodal signaling mutants revealed that their transcriptomes were canalized into a subset of wild-type transcriptional trajectories. Some wild-type developmental branchpoints contained cells expressing genes characteristic of multiple fates. These cells appeared to trans-specify from one fate to another. These findings reconstruct the transcriptional trajectories of a vertebrate embryo, highlight the concurrent canalization and plasticity of embryonic specification, and provide a framework to reconstruct complex developmental trees from single-cell transcriptomes.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Show all Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping