Transcriptional heterogeneity of ventricular zone cells in the ganglionic eminences of the mouse forebrain

• Published in: eLife Vol. 11
• Main Authors: Lee, Dongjin R, Rhodes, Christopher, Mitra, Apratim, Zhang, Yajun, Maric, Dragan, Dale, Ryan K, Petros, Timothy J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 17-02-2022; eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
• Subjects: Brain; Cell cycle; Cell fate; Developmental Biology; Flow cytometry; Forebrain; ganglionic eminences; Gene expression; Genetic diversity; Genomics; interneurons; Nervous system; Neural stem cells; neurodevelopment; Neurogenesis; Neuroscience; Progenitor cells; radial glia; Radial glial cells; single cell sequencing; Subventricular zone; Transcription; Transgenic mice; Ventricle; Ventricular zone; γ-Aminobutyric acid; ganglionic eminences; mouse; ventricular zone; radial glia; neurodevelopment; developmental biology; neuroscience; single cell sequencing; interneurons
• ISSN: 2050-084X; 2050-084X
• DOI: 10.7554/ELIFE.71864

The ventricular zone (VZ) of the nervous system contains radial glia cells that were originally considered relatively homogenous in their gene expression, but a detailed characterization of transcriptional diversity in these VZ cells has not been reported. Here, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing to characterize transcriptional heterogeneity of neural progenitors within the VZ and subventricular zone (SVZ) of the ganglionic eminences (GEs), the source of all forebrain GABAergic neurons. By using a transgenic mouse line to enrich for VZ cells, we characterize significant transcriptional heterogeneity, both between GEs and within spatial subdomains of specific GEs. Additionally, we observe differential gene expression between E12.5 and E14.5 VZ cells, which could provide insights into temporal changes in cell fate. Together, our results reveal a previously unknown spatial and temporal genetic diversity of VZ cells in the ventral forebrain that will aid our understanding of initial fate decisions in the forebrain.