SUMMARY
The diversity of neural stem cells is a hallmark of gyrencephalic brains, including that in humans. Ferrets are an excellent model to study the complex brain development in gyrencephalic mammals, but information on their neural progenitor subtypes is fragmentary. Here, we investigated the temporal series of single-cell transcriptomes of progenitors in developing cortices in ferrets for comparison with human datasets. We found that the diversity and temporal trajectory of neural progenitors, termed radial glia (RG), are well conserved between ferrets and humans. Truncated RG (tRG), a progenitor subtype previously described in humans, and outer RG-like cells were assigned to ferret transcriptomes. In vivo and transcriptome analyses indicated that ferret tRG are generated via asymmetric RG divisions during late neurogenesis, and suggested that tRG is eventually fated to ependymal and glial populations. Therefore, the combined analyses of human and ferret transcriptomes enable the determination of progenitor fate sequences in vivo.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
Further information and requests for resources and reagents should be directed to and will be fulfilled by the lead contact, Fumio Matsuzaki (fumio.matsuzaki{at}riken.jp)