A single-cell atlas of spatial and temporal gene expression in the mouse cranial neural plate

The formation of the mammalian brain requires regionalization and morphogenesis of the cranial neural plate, which transforms from an epithelial sheet into a closed tube that provides the structural foundation for neural patterning and circuit formation. Sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling is important f...

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Main Authors: Eric R Brooks, Andrew R Moorman, Bhaswati Bhattacharya, Ian S Prudhomme, Max Land, Heather L Alcorn, Roshan Sharma, Dana Pe'er, Jennifer A Zallen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 2025-04-01
Series:eLife
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Online Access:https://elifesciences.org/articles/102819
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author Eric R Brooks
Andrew R Moorman
Bhaswati Bhattacharya
Ian S Prudhomme
Max Land
Heather L Alcorn
Roshan Sharma
Dana Pe'er
Jennifer A Zallen
author_facet Eric R Brooks
Andrew R Moorman
Bhaswati Bhattacharya
Ian S Prudhomme
Max Land
Heather L Alcorn
Roshan Sharma
Dana Pe'er
Jennifer A Zallen
author_sort Eric R Brooks
collection DOAJ
description The formation of the mammalian brain requires regionalization and morphogenesis of the cranial neural plate, which transforms from an epithelial sheet into a closed tube that provides the structural foundation for neural patterning and circuit formation. Sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling is important for cranial neural plate patterning and closure, but the transcriptional changes that give rise to the spatially regulated cell fates and behaviors that build the cranial neural tube have not been systematically analyzed. Here, we used single-cell RNA sequencing to generate an atlas of gene expression at six consecutive stages of cranial neural tube closure in the mouse embryo. Ordering transcriptional profiles relative to the major axes of gene expression predicted spatially regulated expression of 870 genes along the anterior-posterior and mediolateral axes of the cranial neural plate and reproduced known expression patterns with over 85% accuracy. Single-cell RNA sequencing of embryos with activated SHH signaling revealed distinct SHH-regulated transcriptional programs in the developing forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain, suggesting a complex interplay between anterior-posterior and mediolateral patterning systems. These results define a spatiotemporally resolved map of gene expression during cranial neural tube closure and provide a resource for investigating the transcriptional events that drive early mammalian brain development.
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spelling doaj-art-e21742cd107744848e49ec31f3d5e4de2025-08-20T01:56:14ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2025-04-011310.7554/eLife.102819A single-cell atlas of spatial and temporal gene expression in the mouse cranial neural plateEric R Brooks0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3159-8626Andrew R Moorman1Bhaswati Bhattacharya2Ian S Prudhomme3Max Land4Heather L Alcorn5Roshan Sharma6Dana Pe'er7Jennifer A Zallen8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3975-1568Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, United States; Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, United StatesHoward Hughes Medical Institute and Computational and Systems Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, United StatesHoward Hughes Medical Institute and Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, United StatesHoward Hughes Medical Institute and Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, United StatesHoward Hughes Medical Institute and Computational and Systems Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, United StatesHoward Hughes Medical Institute and Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, United StatesHoward Hughes Medical Institute and Computational and Systems Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, United StatesHoward Hughes Medical Institute and Computational and Systems Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, United StatesHoward Hughes Medical Institute and Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, United StatesThe formation of the mammalian brain requires regionalization and morphogenesis of the cranial neural plate, which transforms from an epithelial sheet into a closed tube that provides the structural foundation for neural patterning and circuit formation. Sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling is important for cranial neural plate patterning and closure, but the transcriptional changes that give rise to the spatially regulated cell fates and behaviors that build the cranial neural tube have not been systematically analyzed. Here, we used single-cell RNA sequencing to generate an atlas of gene expression at six consecutive stages of cranial neural tube closure in the mouse embryo. Ordering transcriptional profiles relative to the major axes of gene expression predicted spatially regulated expression of 870 genes along the anterior-posterior and mediolateral axes of the cranial neural plate and reproduced known expression patterns with over 85% accuracy. Single-cell RNA sequencing of embryos with activated SHH signaling revealed distinct SHH-regulated transcriptional programs in the developing forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain, suggesting a complex interplay between anterior-posterior and mediolateral patterning systems. These results define a spatiotemporally resolved map of gene expression during cranial neural tube closure and provide a resource for investigating the transcriptional events that drive early mammalian brain development.https://elifesciences.org/articles/102819single-cell RNA sequencingmouse embryoneural platebrain developmentpatterningneural tube closure
spellingShingle Eric R Brooks
Andrew R Moorman
Bhaswati Bhattacharya
Ian S Prudhomme
Max Land
Heather L Alcorn
Roshan Sharma
Dana Pe'er
Jennifer A Zallen
A single-cell atlas of spatial and temporal gene expression in the mouse cranial neural plate
eLife
single-cell RNA sequencing
mouse embryo
neural plate
brain development
patterning
neural tube closure
title A single-cell atlas of spatial and temporal gene expression in the mouse cranial neural plate
title_full A single-cell atlas of spatial and temporal gene expression in the mouse cranial neural plate
title_fullStr A single-cell atlas of spatial and temporal gene expression in the mouse cranial neural plate
title_full_unstemmed A single-cell atlas of spatial and temporal gene expression in the mouse cranial neural plate
title_short A single-cell atlas of spatial and temporal gene expression in the mouse cranial neural plate
title_sort single cell atlas of spatial and temporal gene expression in the mouse cranial neural plate
topic single-cell RNA sequencing
mouse embryo
neural plate
brain development
patterning
neural tube closure
url https://elifesciences.org/articles/102819
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