Reconstruction of macroglia and adult neurogenesis evolution through cross-species single-cell transcriptomic analyses

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 15; no. 1; p. 3306
• Main Authors: Morizet, David, Foucher, Isabelle, Alunni, Alessandro, Bally-Cuif, Laure
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 17.04.2024; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 13; 38; 38/32; 45; 45/100; 45/91; 631/378/2183/2182; 631/378/2596/1308; 64; 64/116; Animals; Astrocytes; Communication; Development Biology; Emergence; Evolution; Gene Expression Profiling; Glia; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Life Sciences; Mammals; multidisciplinary; Neural stem cells; Neurogenesis; Neurogenesis - physiology; Neuroglia; Neuroglia - physiology; Neurons; Radial glial cells; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Stem cells; Transcriptomics; Vertebrates; Zebrafish
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47484-1

Macroglia fulfill essential functions in the adult vertebrate brain, producing and maintaining neurons and regulating neuronal communication. However, we still know little about their emergence and diversification. We used the zebrafish D. rerio as a distant vertebrate model with moderate glial diversity as anchor to reanalyze datasets covering over 600 million years of evolution. We identify core features of adult neurogenesis and innovations in the mammalian lineage with a potential link to the rarity of radial glia-like cells in adult humans. Our results also suggest that functions associated with astrocytes originated in a multifunctional cell type fulfilling both neural stem cell and astrocytic functions before these diverged. Finally, we identify conserved elements of macroglial cell identity and function and their time of emergence during evolution. Macroglia are neural cells that have garnered less interest than neurons despite their crucial functions including neurogenesis. Here the authors use sequencing from several species to investigate the evolution of macroglia and of adult neurogenesis.