{"database":"GEO","file_versions":[{"headers":{"Content-Type":["application/json"]},"body":{"files":{"Other":["ftp://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/series/GSE338nnn/GSE338836/"]},"type":"primary"},"statusCode":"OK","statusCodeValue":200}],"scores":null,"additional":{"omics_type":["Transcriptomics"],"species":["Botryllus schlosseri"],"gds_type":["Expression profiling by high throughput sequencing"],"full_dataset_link":["https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE338836"],"repository":["GEO"],"entry_type":["GSE"],"additional_accession":[]},"is_claimable":false,"name":"Multi-stage single-cell atlas of a chordate non-embryonic development unveils dedifferentiating bud founder cells","description":"Colonial tunicates are the only chordates capable of forming fully functional bodies from somatic tissues through non-embryonic development, or budding. In Botryllus schlosseri, budding produces new individuals (zooids) from a portion of the peribranchial epithelium of a preexisting zooid. While the anatomy of this process has been described in detail, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underpinning bud initiation remain elusive. Here, we present a multi-stage single-cell transcriptomic atlas of a non-embryonic development in a chordate, capturing initiation and development of zooids. We identify an epithelial founder cell population that gains developmental potential through possible dedifferentiation, challenging the long-standing hypothesis that a long-lived, circulating pluripotent stem cell drives new zooid formation. Although some circulating cells exhibit stem-like expression profiles, these populations were either hematopoietic or germline restricted lineages. This atlas provides a foundational resource for understanding the cellular origin and mechanisms underlying agametic development and possibly whole-body regeneration in chordates.","dates":{"publication":"2026/07/29"},"accession":"GSE338836","cross_references":{"GSM":["GSM9883234","GSM9883235","GSM9883236","GSM9883237","GSM9883238","GSM9883239","GSM9883240","GSM9883241","GSM9883242","GSM9883233"],"GPL":["37227","37228"],"GSE":["338836"],"taxon":["Botryllus schlosseri"]}}