PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Nigel S. Michki
AU  - Ye Li
AU  - Kayvon Sanjasaz
AU  - Yimeng Zhao
AU  - Fred Y. Shen
AU  - Logan A. Walker
AU  - Cheng-Yu Lee
AU  - Dawen Cai
TI  - A multi-informatic description of neural differentiation in the Drosophila type-II neuroblast lineages
AID  - 10.1101/2020.07.02.184549
DP  - 2020 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2020.07.02.184549
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/07/02/2020.07.02.184549.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/07/02/2020.07.02.184549.full
AB  - To adopt terminal neural fates, neural progenitors respond to a combination of molecular factors, the interplay between which remains difficult to untangle. In this work, we interrogated the type-II neuroblast lineages in the developing Drosophila brain using targeted single-cell mRNA sequencing. We used pseudotime analysis to group cells by their differentiation state and subsequently used marker gene analysis to identify genes that may play a role in neural fate specification. To aid the candidate gene selection process, we created MiCV, a scRNA-seq data visualization web tool that integrates results from the multifaceted analysis, displays the co-expression pattern of multiple genes, and provides an automated gene function curating feature. In situ profiling of these mRNAs further recovered the spatial information lacking in the single-cell data. Combining prior knowledge, in silico analysis, and in situ evidence, we characterize the molecular landscape of the developing Drosophila type-II neuroblast lineages and provide a roadmap for navigating the more complex brains.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.