Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics reveal somitogenesis in gastruloids
CIC nanoGUNE Seminars
- Speaker
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Anna Alemany, Hubrecht Institute
- When
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2020/03/02
12:00 - Place
- nanoGUNE seminar room, Tolosa Hiribidea 76, Donostia - San Sebastian
- Add to calendar
-
iCal
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**Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics reveal somitogenesis in
gastruloids**
Anna Alemany (Hubrecht Institute)
Gastruloids are three-dimensional aggregates of embryonic stem cells (ESCs)
that display key features of mammalian post-implantation development,
including germ layer specification and axial organization. So far, the
expression pattern of only a small number of genes in gastruloids has been
explored with microscopy, but it is still unclear to what extent genome-wide
expression patterns mimic those in embryos. In this talk, I will show how
mouse gastruloids compare with mouse embryos using single-cell RNA sequencing
(scRNA-seq) and spatial transcriptomics (tomo-seq). This approach revealed
various embryonic cell types that were not known to be present in gastruloids,
and showed that key regulators of somitogenesis are expressed similarly
between embryos and gastruloids. Using live-imaging I will then show that the
somitogenesis clock is active in gastruloids with dynamics resembling those in
vivo. Finally, I will demonstrate that Matrigel-embedding induces gastruloids
to generate somites with correct rostral-caudal patterning, which appear
sequentially in anterior to posterior direction over time. All taken together,
I will thus show the power of gastruloids as a model system to explore
development and somitogenesis in vitro in a high-throughput manner.
**Host:** R. Pérez-Jiménez