Laboratory of Transcriptional Regulation, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, Prague, Czech Republic.
Laboratory of Genomics and Bioinformatics, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, Prague, Czech Republic.
Nat Commun. 2024 Oct 14;15(1):8859. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52938-7.
To shed light on the enigmatic origin of the vertebrate head, our study employs an integrated approach that combines single-cell transcriptomics, perturbations in signaling pathways, and cis-regulatory analysis in amphioxus. As a representative of a basal lineage within the chordate phylum, amphioxus retains many characteristics thought to have been present in the common chordate ancestor. Through cell type characterization, we identify the presence of prechordal plate-like, pre-migratory, and migratory neural crest-like cell populations in the developing amphioxus embryo. Functional analysis establishes conserved roles of the Nodal and Hedgehog signaling pathways in prechordal plate-like populations, and of the Wnt signaling pathway in neural crest-like populations' development. Furthermore, our trans-species transgenic experiments highlight similarities in the regulatory environments that drive neural crest-like and prechordal plate-like developmental programs in both vertebrates and amphioxus. Our findings provide evidence that the key features of vertebrate head development can be traced back to the common ancestor of all chordates.
为了阐明脊椎动物头部的神秘起源，我们的研究采用了一种综合方法，结合了单细胞转录组学、信号通路的干扰以及文昌鱼中的顺式调控分析。文昌鱼作为脊索动物门的一个基础谱系的代表，保留了许多被认为存在于共同脊索动物祖先中的特征。通过细胞类型特征分析，我们在发育中的文昌鱼胚胎中鉴定出存在前脊索板样、前迁移和迁移神经嵴样细胞群体。功能分析确立了 Nodal 和 Hedgehog 信号通路在前脊索板样群体中的保守作用，以及 Wnt 信号通路在神经嵴样群体发育中的作用。此外，我们的跨物种转基因实验强调了在驱动脊椎动物和文昌鱼中神经嵴样和前脊索板样发育程序的调控环境中的相似性。我们的发现提供了证据，表明脊椎动物头部发育的关键特征可以追溯到所有脊索动物的共同祖先。
