Pronounced early differentiation underlies zebra finch gonadal germ cell development.

Autor: Biegler MT; The Rockefeller University, New York NY, USA. Electronic address: mbiegler@rockefeller.edu., Belay K; The Rockefeller University, New York NY, USA., Wang W; The Rockefeller University, New York NY, USA., Szialta C; The Rockefeller University, New York NY, USA., Collier P; Weill Cornell Medicine, New York NY, USA., Luo JD; The Rockefeller University, New York NY, USA., Haase B; The Rockefeller University, New York NY, USA., Gedman GL; The Rockefeller University, New York NY, USA., Sidhu AV; The Rockefeller University, New York NY, USA., Harter E; The Rockefeller University, New York NY, USA., Rivera-López C; Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA., Amoako-Boadu K; New York University, New York NY, USA., Fedrigo O; The Rockefeller University, New York NY, USA., Tilgner HU; Weill Cornell Medicine, New York NY, USA., Carroll T; The Rockefeller University, New York NY, USA., Jarvis ED; The Rockefeller University, New York NY, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD, USA. Electronic address: ejarvis@rockefeller.edu., Keyte AL; The Rockefeller University, New York NY, USA. Electronic address: anna@colossal.com.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Developmental biology [Dev Biol] 2024 Aug 28; Vol. 517, pp. 73-90. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 28.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2024.08.006
Abstrakt: The diversity of germ cell developmental strategies has been well documented across many vertebrate clades. However, much of our understanding of avian primordial germ cell (PGC) specification and differentiation has derived from only one species, the chicken (Gallus gallus). Of the three major classes of birds, chickens belong to Galloanserae, representing less than 4% of species, while nearly 95% of extant bird species belong to Neoaves. This represents a significant gap in our knowledge of germ cell development across avian species, hampering efforts to adapt genome editing and reproductive technologies developed in chicken to other birds. We therefore applied single-cell RNA sequencing to investigate inter-species differences in germ cell development between chicken and zebra finch (Taeniopygia castanotis), a Neoaves songbird species and a common model of vocal learning. Analysis of early embryonic male and female gonads revealed the presence of two distinct early germ cell types in zebra finch and only one in chicken. Both germ cell types expressed zebra finch Germline Restricted Chromosome (GRC) genes, present only in songbirds among birds. One of the zebra finch germ cell types expressed the canonical PGC markers, as did chicken, but with expression differences in several signaling pathways and biological processes. The second zebra finch germ cell cluster was marked by proliferation and fate determination markers, indicating beginning of differentiation. Notably, these two zebra finch germ cell populations were present in both male and female zebra finch gonads as early as HH25. Using additional chicken developmental stages, similar germ cell heterogeneity was identified in the more developed gonads of females, but not males. Overall, our study demonstrates a substantial heterochrony in zebra finch germ cell development compared to chicken, indicating a richer diversity of avian germ cell developmental strategies than previously known.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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