An amphioxus neurula stage cell atlas supports a complex scenario for the emergence of vertebrate head mesoderm

Xavier Grau-Bové, Lucie Subirana, Lydvina Meister, Anaël Soubigou, Ana Neto, Anamaria Elek, Silvia Naranjo, Oscar Fornas, Jose Luis Gomez-Skarmeta, Juan J. Tena, Manuel Irimia, Stéphanie Bertrand (), Arnau Sebé-Pedrós () and Hector Escriva ()
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Xavier Grau-Bové: Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST)
Lucie Subirana: BIOM
Lydvina Meister: BIOM
Anaël Soubigou: BIOM
Ana Neto: CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía
Anamaria Elek: Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST)
Silvia Naranjo: CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía
Oscar Fornas: Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology (BIST)
Jose Luis Gomez-Skarmeta: CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía
Juan J. Tena: CSIC-Universidad Pablo de Olavide-Junta de Andalucía
Manuel Irimia: Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST)
Stéphanie Bertrand: BIOM
Arnau Sebé-Pedrós: Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST)
Hector Escriva: BIOM

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-18

Abstract: Abstract The emergence of new structures can often be linked to the evolution of novel cell types that follows the rewiring of developmental gene regulatory subnetworks. Vertebrates are characterized by a complex body plan compared to the other chordate clades and the question remains of whether and how the emergence of vertebrate morphological innovations can be related to the appearance of new embryonic cell populations. We previously proposed, by studying mesoderm development in the cephalochordate amphioxus, a scenario for the evolution of the vertebrate head mesoderm. To further test this scenario at the cell population level, we used scRNA-seq to construct a cell atlas of the amphioxus neurula, stage at which the main mesodermal compartments are specified. Our data allowed us to validate the presence of a prechordal-plate like territory in amphioxus. Additionally, the transcriptomic profile of somite cell populations supports the homology between specific territories of amphioxus somites and vertebrate cranial/pharyngeal and lateral plate mesoderm. Finally, our work provides evidence that the appearance of the specific mesodermal structures of the vertebrate head was associated to both segregation of pre-existing cell populations, and co-option of new genes for the control of myogenesis.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48774-4

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