A lineage-resolved molecular atlas of embryogenesis at single-cell resolution.

Jonathan S Packer, Qin Zhu, Chau Huynh, Priya Sivaramakrishnan, Elicia Preston, Hannah Dueck, Derek Stefanik, Kai Tan, Cole Trapnell, Junhyong Kim, Robert H Waterston, John I Murray
Author Information
  1. Jonathan S Packer: Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. ORCID
  2. Qin Zhu: Genomics and Computational Biology Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. ORCID
  3. Chau Huynh: Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
  4. Priya Sivaramakrishnan: Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. ORCID
  5. Elicia Preston: Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. ORCID
  6. Hannah Dueck: Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. ORCID
  7. Derek Stefanik: Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. ORCID
  8. Kai Tan: Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. ORCID
  9. Cole Trapnell: Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. ORCID
  10. Junhyong Kim: Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. junhyong@sas.upenn.edu watersto@uw.edu jmurr@pennmedicine.upenn.edu. ORCID
  11. Robert H Waterston: Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. junhyong@sas.upenn.edu watersto@uw.edu jmurr@pennmedicine.upenn.edu. ORCID
  12. John I Murray: Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. junhyong@sas.upenn.edu watersto@uw.edu jmurr@pennmedicine.upenn.edu. ORCID

Abstract

is an animal with few cells but a wide diversity of cell types. In this study, we characterize the molecular basis for their specification by profiling the transcriptomes of 86,024 single embryonic cells. We identify 502 terminal and preterminal cell types, mapping most single-cell transcriptomes to their exact position in ' invariant lineage. Using these annotations, we find that (i) the correlation between a cell's lineage and its transcriptome increases from middle to late gastrulation, then falls substantially as cells in the nervous system and pharynx adopt their terminal fates; (ii) multilineage priming contributes to the differentiation of sister cells at dozens of lineage branches; and (iii) most distinct lineages that produce the same anatomical cell type converge to a homogenous transcriptomic state.

Associated Data

Dryad | 10.5061/dryad.7tg31p7

MeSH Term

Animals
Caenorhabditis elegans
Cell Differentiation
Cell Lineage
Embryonic Development
Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
RNA-Seq
Single-Cell Analysis
Transcriptome