近日，美国加州大学戴维斯分校的Celina E. Juliano研究组合作在单细胞分辨率层面解析了水螅干细胞的分化轨迹。2019年7月26日，国际知名学术期刊《科学》发表了这一成果。

研究人员对24,985个水螅细胞进行了单细胞转录组测序，并鉴定了从干细胞到终末分化细胞等多种细胞阶段的分子特征。研究人员构建了每个细胞谱系的分化轨迹，并确定了沿着这些轨迹表达的基因模块和可能的调控因子，从而创建了一个完整的成体水螅中所有细胞发育谱系的分子图谱。此外，研究人员还建立了水螅神经系统的基因表达图谱。因此，这项工作为回答多细胞生物发育过程和神经系统功能的进化等问题提供了资源。

研究人员表示，成年水螅通过三群不同的干细胞不断地更新其所有的细胞，但这种维持组织稳态的遗传途径尚不清楚。

附：英文原文

Title: Stem cell differentiation trajectories in Hydra resolved at single-cell resolution

Author: Stefan Siebert, Jeffrey A. Farrell, Jack F. Cazet, Yashodara Abeykoon, Abby S. Primack, Christine E. Schnitzler, Celina E. Juliano

Issue&Volume: Vol 365 Issue 6451

Abstract: The adult Hydra polyp continually renews all of its cells using three separate stem cell populations, but the genetic pathways enabling this homeostatic tissue maintenance are not well understood. We sequenced 24,985 Hydra single-cell transcriptomes and identified the molecular signatures of a broad spectrum of cell states, from stem cells to terminally differentiated cells. We constructed differentiation trajectories for each cell lineage and identified gene modules and putative regulators expressed along these trajectories, thus creating a comprehensive molecular map of all developmental lineages in the adult animal. In addition, we built a gene expression map of the Hydra nervous system. Our work constitutes a resource for addressing questions regarding the evolution of metazoan developmental processes and nervous system function.

DOI: 10.1126/science.aav9314

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6451/eaav9314