Cell type diversity

The mechanisms underlying neuron specification and maturation are unclear. Here the authors provide an integrated epigenomic and transcriptomic analysis of mouse and marmoset neocortical neuronal classes. Pan-neuronal programs active during early development are more evolutionary conserved but not neuron-specific, whereas pan-neuronal programs active during later stages of maturation are more neuron- and species-specific.

Single-nucleus RNA-sequencing analysis supports the presence of immature dentate granule cells throughout the human lifespan and shows that these cells are reduced in number and dysregulated in Alzheimer's disease.

Tbx2 is a master regulator of cochlear inner hair cells.

A complex regulatory network of temporally expressed transcription factors in Drosophila optic lobe stem cells regulates the generation of all neuronal diversity.

Evolutionary modelling shows that an initial set of inhibitory neurons serving olfactory bulbs may have been repurposed to diversify the taxonomy of interneurons found in the expanded striata and cortices in primates.