Project description:The vertebrate ectoderm gives rise to a variety of cell lineages, including neural, neural crest, placodal and non-neural cell fates. How cell fates are specified at the neural plate border (the region surrounding the neural plate) is not fully understood. We therefore carried out 10x scRNAseq of the chick epiblast to investigate cell fate specification at the neural plate border. Embryos were dissected and pooled according to stage. The tissue was then dissociated and FAC sorted to remove dead cells and remaining doublets before cells were stored in MeOH. Due to the time required to dissect embryos, multiple rounds of collections were carried out, with collections from the same stage pooled prior to 10x sequencing. Libraries were sequenced using an Illumina HiSeq 4000 at the Francis Crick Institute, London. This collection was a follow up to E-MTAB-10408.
Project description:The embryonic ectoderm gives rise to four fates: neural, neural crest, placodal and epidermal. The derivatives of these fates give rise to the entire vertebrate nervous system and skin. To explore how these cell fates emerge, we profiled single cell chromatin accessibility in the chick embryonic ectoderm at five developmental timepoints.
Project description:The inner ear develops from a patch of thickened cranial ectoderm adjacent to the hindbrain called the otic placode. Studies in a number of vertebrate species suggest that the initial steps in induction of the otic placode are regulated by members of the Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF) family, and that inhibition of FGF signaling can prevent otic placode formation. To better understand the genetic pathways activated by FGF signaling during otic placode induction, we performed microarray experiments to estimate the proportion of chicken otic placode genes that can be up-regulated by the FGF pathway in a simple culture model of otic placode induction. Surprisingly, we find that FGF is only sufficient to induce about 15% of chick otic placode-specific genes in our experimental system. However, pharmacological blockade of the FGF pathway in cultured chick embryos showed that although FGF signaling was not sufficient to induce the majority of otic placode-specific genes, it was still necessary for their expression in vivo. These inhibitor experiments further suggest that the early steps in otic placode induction regulated by FGF signaling occur through the MAP kinase pathway. Although our work suggests that FGF signaling is necessary for otic placode induction, it demonstrates that other unidentified signaling pathways are required to co-operate with FGF signaling to induce the full otic placode program. 8 samples were analyzed. These contain two replicates of each of the following four catergories: Otic ectoderm, Non-Otic (lateral) ectoderm, Trigeminal Ectoderm cultured - FGF, Trigeminal Ectoderm cultured + FGF
Project description:Type IV collagen is the main component of the basement membrane which gives strength to the blood-gas barrier. In avians the formation of the blood-gas barrier happens rapidly and before hatching. We have performed a microarray expression analysis in late chick lung development and found that COL4A1 and COL4A2 were among the most significantly upregulated genes during the formation of the avian blood-gas barrier. Our study showed that type IV collagen and therefore the basement membrane play fundamental roles in coordinating alveolar morphogenesis. Four developmental stages of chick lung maturation (E14, E15, E16, E18). Three biological replicates per time point.