A multimodal zebrafish developmental atlas reveals the state-transition dynamics of late-vertebrate pluripotent axial progenitors

Abstract

Elucidating organismal developmental processes requires a comprehensive understanding of cellular lineages in the spatial, temporal, and molecular domains. In this study, we introduce Zebrahub, a dynamic atlas of zebrafish embryonic development that integrates single-cell sequencing time course data with lineage reconstructions facilitated by light-sheet microscopy. This atlas offers high-resolution and in-depth molecular insights into zebrafish development, achieved through the sequencing of individual embryos across ten developmental stages, complemented by reconstructions of cellular trajectories. Zebrahub also incorporates an interactive tool to navigate the complex cellular flows and lineages derived from light-sheet microscopy data, enabling in silico fate-mapping experiments. To demonstrate the versatility of our multimodal resource, we utilize Zebrahub to provide fresh insights into the pluripotency of neuro-mesodermal progenitors (NMPs) and the origins of a joint kidney-hemangioblast progenitor population.

Keywords: NMPs; RNA velocity; cell state transition; embryonic pluripotency; in silico fate mapping; light-sheet microscopy; lineage reconstruction; neuro-mesodermal progenitors; scRNA-seq; single-cell RNA sequencing; transcriptomic variability; zebrafish developmental atlas.