A shared transcriptional code orchestrates temporal patterning of the central nervous system.

The molecular mechanisms that produce the full array of neuronal subtypes in the vertebrate nervous system are incompletely understood. Here, we provide evidence of a global temporal patterning program comprising sets of transcription factors that stratifies neurons based on the developmental time a...

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Main Authors: Andreas Sagner, Isabel Zhang, Thomas Watson, Jorge Lazaro, Manuela Melchionda, James Briscoe
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021-11-01
Series:PLoS Biology
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001450&type=printable
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author Andreas Sagner
Isabel Zhang
Thomas Watson
Jorge Lazaro
Manuela Melchionda
James Briscoe
author_facet Andreas Sagner
Isabel Zhang
Thomas Watson
Jorge Lazaro
Manuela Melchionda
James Briscoe
author_sort Andreas Sagner
collection DOAJ
description The molecular mechanisms that produce the full array of neuronal subtypes in the vertebrate nervous system are incompletely understood. Here, we provide evidence of a global temporal patterning program comprising sets of transcription factors that stratifies neurons based on the developmental time at which they are generated. This transcriptional code acts throughout the central nervous system, in parallel to spatial patterning, thereby increasing the diversity of neurons generated along the neuraxis. We further demonstrate that this temporal program operates in stem cell-derived neurons and is under the control of the TGFβ signaling pathway. Targeted perturbation of components of the temporal program, Nfia and Nfib, reveals their functional requirement for the generation of late-born neuronal subtypes. Together, our results provide evidence for the existence of a previously unappreciated global temporal transcriptional program of neuronal subtype identity and suggest that the integration of spatial and temporal patterning mechanisms diversifies and organizes neuronal subtypes in the vertebrate nervous system.
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language English
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spelling doaj-art-1f4bade4a91e47e8a61775cad7bde81e2025-08-20T03:25:34ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Biology1544-91731545-78852021-11-011911e300145010.1371/journal.pbio.3001450A shared transcriptional code orchestrates temporal patterning of the central nervous system.Andreas SagnerIsabel ZhangThomas WatsonJorge LazaroManuela MelchiondaJames BriscoeThe molecular mechanisms that produce the full array of neuronal subtypes in the vertebrate nervous system are incompletely understood. Here, we provide evidence of a global temporal patterning program comprising sets of transcription factors that stratifies neurons based on the developmental time at which they are generated. This transcriptional code acts throughout the central nervous system, in parallel to spatial patterning, thereby increasing the diversity of neurons generated along the neuraxis. We further demonstrate that this temporal program operates in stem cell-derived neurons and is under the control of the TGFβ signaling pathway. Targeted perturbation of components of the temporal program, Nfia and Nfib, reveals their functional requirement for the generation of late-born neuronal subtypes. Together, our results provide evidence for the existence of a previously unappreciated global temporal transcriptional program of neuronal subtype identity and suggest that the integration of spatial and temporal patterning mechanisms diversifies and organizes neuronal subtypes in the vertebrate nervous system.https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001450&type=printable
spellingShingle Andreas Sagner
Isabel Zhang
Thomas Watson
Jorge Lazaro
Manuela Melchionda
James Briscoe
A shared transcriptional code orchestrates temporal patterning of the central nervous system.
PLoS Biology
title A shared transcriptional code orchestrates temporal patterning of the central nervous system.
title_full A shared transcriptional code orchestrates temporal patterning of the central nervous system.
title_fullStr A shared transcriptional code orchestrates temporal patterning of the central nervous system.
title_full_unstemmed A shared transcriptional code orchestrates temporal patterning of the central nervous system.
title_short A shared transcriptional code orchestrates temporal patterning of the central nervous system.
title_sort shared transcriptional code orchestrates temporal patterning of the central nervous system
url https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001450&type=printable
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