Comparative single-cell transcriptomic atlases of drosophilid brains suggest glial evolution during ecological adaptation.

ABSTRACT: To explore how brains change upon species evolution, we generated single-cell transcriptomic atlases of the central brains of three closely related but ecologically distinct drosophilids: the generalists Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans, and the noni fruit specialist Drosophila sechellia. The global cellular composition of these species' brains is well-conserved, but we predicted a few cell types with different frequencies, notably perineurial glia of the blood-brain barrier, which we validate in vivo. Gene expression analysis revealed that distinct cell types evolve at different rates and patterns, with glial populations exhibiting the greatest divergence between species. Compared to the D. melanogaster brain, cellular composition and gene expression patterns are more diver

SUBMITTER: Lee D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12040179 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature