PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Jacob A. Blum
AU  - Sandy Klemm
AU  - Lisa Nakayama
AU  - Arwa Kathiria
AU  - Kevin A. Guttenplan
AU  - Phuong T. Hoang
AU  - Jennifer L. Shadrach
AU  - Julia A. Kaltschmidt
AU  - William J. Greenleaf
AU  - Aaron D. Gitler
TI  - Single-cell transcriptomic analysis of the adult mouse spinal cord
AID  - 10.1101/2020.03.16.992958
DP  - 2020 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2020.03.16.992958
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/03/19/2020.03.16.992958.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/03/19/2020.03.16.992958.full
AB  - The spinal cord is a fascinating structure responsible for coordinating all movement in vertebrates. Spinal motor neurons control the activity of virtually every organ and muscle throughout the body by transmitting signals that originate in the spinal cord. These neurons are remarkably heterogeneous in their activity and innervation targets. However, because motor neurons represent only a small fraction of cells within the spinal cord and are difficult to isolate, the full complement of motor neuron subtypes remains unknown. Here we comprehensively describe the molecular heterogeneity of motor neurons within the adult spinal cord. We profiled 43,890 single-nucleus transcriptomes using fluorescence-activated nuclei sorting to enrich for spinal motor neuron nuclei. These data reveal a transcriptional map of the adult mammalian spinal cord and the first unbiased characterization of all transcriptionally distinct autonomic and somatic spinal motor neuron subpopulations. We identify 16 sympathetic motor neuron subtypes that segregate spatially along the spinal cord. Many of these subtypes selectively express specific hormones and receptors, suggesting neuromodulatory signaling within the autonomic nervous system. We describe skeletal motor neuron heterogeneity in the adult spinal cord, revealing numerous novel markers that distinguish alpha and gamma motor neurons—cell populations that are specifically affected in neurodegenerative disease. We also provide evidence for a novel transcriptional subpopulation of skeletal motor neurons. Collectively, these data provide a single-cell transcriptional atlas for investigating motor neuron diversity as well as the cellular and molecular basis of motor neuron function in health and disease.