A reference single-cell regulomic and transcriptomic map of cynomolgus monkeys

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 4069
• Main Authors: Qu, Jiao, Yang, Fa, Zhu, Tao, Wang, Yingshuo, Fang, Wen, Ding, Yan, Zhao, Xue, Qi, Xianjia, Xie, Qiangmin, Chen, Ming, Xu, Qiang, Xie, Yicheng, Sun, Yang, Chen, Dijun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group 13.07.2022; Nature Publishing Group UK; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: Animal models; Chromatin; Comparative analysis; Gene expression; Gene sequencing; Heterogeneity; Laboratory animals; Molecular dynamics; Monkeys; Monkeys & apes; Organs; Primates; Regulatory sequences; Transcriptomics
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31770-x

Abstract Non-human primates are attractive laboratory animal models that accurately reflect both developmental and pathological features of humans. Here we present a compendium of cell types across multiple organs in cynomolgus monkeys ( Macaca fascicularis ) using both single-cell chromatin accessibility and RNA sequencing data. The integrated cell map enables in-depth dissection and comparison of molecular dynamics, cell-type compositions and cellular heterogeneity across multiple tissues and organs. Using single-cell transcriptomic data, we infer pseudotime cell trajectories and cell-cell communications to uncover key molecular signatures underlying their cellular processes. Furthermore, we identify various cell-specific cis -regulatory elements and construct organ-specific gene regulatory networks at the single-cell level. Finally, we perform comparative analyses of single-cell landscapes among mouse, monkey and human. We show that cynomolgus monkey has strikingly higher degree of similarities in terms of immune-associated gene expression patterns and cellular communications to human than mouse. Taken together, our study provides a valuable resource for non-human primate cell biology.