Hubrecht Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and University Medical Center Utrecht, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, 13092 Berlin-Buch, Germany.
Dev Cell. 2018 Dec 17;47(6):801-813.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2018.10.016. Epub 2018 Nov 8.
To advance our understanding of the genetic programs that drive cell and tissue specialization, it is necessary to obtain a comprehensive overview of gene expression patterns. Here, we have used spatial transcriptomics to generate high-resolution, anteroposterior gene expression maps of C. elegans males and hermaphrodites. To explore these maps, we have developed computational methods for discovering region- and tissue-specific genes. We have found extensive sex-specific gene expression differences in the germline and sperm and discovered genes that are specifically expressed in the male reproductive tract. These include a group of uncharacterized genes that encode small secreted proteins that are required for male fertility. We conclude that spatial gene expression maps provide a powerful resource for identifying tissue-specific gene functions in C. elegans. Importantly, we found that expression maps from different animals can be precisely aligned, enabling transcriptome-wide comparisons of gene expression patterns.
为了深入了解驱动细胞和组织特化的遗传程序，有必要全面了解基因表达模式。在这里，我们使用空间转录组学生成了秀丽隐杆线虫雌雄同体雄性个体的高分辨率、前后向基因表达图谱。为了探索这些图谱，我们开发了用于发现区域和组织特异性基因的计算方法。我们发现了生殖细胞和精子中广泛存在的性别特异性基因表达差异，并发现了在雄性生殖道中特异性表达的基因。其中包括一组未被描述的基因，它们编码的小分泌蛋白对于雄性生育力是必需的。我们的结论是，空间基因表达图谱为鉴定秀丽隐杆线虫中的组织特异性基因功能提供了强大的资源。重要的是，我们发现来自不同动物的表达图谱可以精确对齐，从而能够进行全转录组范围的基因表达模式比较。
