Michki, N.S., Li, Y., Sanjasaz, K., Zhao, Y., Shen, F.Y., Walker, L.A., Cao, W., Lee, C.Y., Cai, D. (2021). The molecular landscape of neural differentiation in the developing Drosophila brain revealed by targeted scRNA-seq and multi-informatic analysis.  Cell Rep. 35(4): 109039.

FBrf0248818

Research paper

The Drosophila type II neuroblast lineages present an attractive model to investigate the neurogenesis and differentiation process as they adapt to a process similar to that in the human outer subventricular zone. We perform targeted single-cell mRNA sequencing in third instar larval brains to study this process of the type II NB lineage. Combining prior knowledge, in silico analyses, and in situ validation, our multi-informatic investigation describes the molecular landscape from a single developmental snapshot. 17 markers are identified to differentiate distinct maturation stages. 30 markers are identified to specify the stem cell origin and/or cell division numbers of INPs, and at least 12 neuronal subtypes are identified. To foster future discoveries, we provide annotated tables of pairwise gene-gene correlation in single cells and MiCV, a web tool for interactively analyzing scRNA-seq datasets. Taken together, these resources advance our understanding of the neural differentiation process at the molecular level.

PMC8139287 (PMC) (EuropePMC)