A cross-vertebrate single-cell and spatial atlas reveals evolutionary trajectories of gastrointestinal cellular innovation.
A comprehensive single-cell and spatial atlas across 10 vertebrate species reveals that gene repurposing and new gene emergence drove gastrointestinal cellular evolution over 500 million years, with key innovations like tuft cells and immune structures.
- Why it matters: Understanding how gastrointestinal cellular diversity evolved is crucial for insights into vertebrate biology and organ function, yet the genetic and cellular mechanisms remain largely unclear.
- What they did: The study constructed a detailed transcriptomic atlas of nearly 1 million cells, analyzing conserved gene modules and lineage-specific changes across species to uncover evolutionary patterns.
- The result: Findings show that regulatory repurposing and novel genes shaped organ evolution, enabling functions such as immune organization and gastric specialization, advancing our grasp of vertebrate gastrointestinal development.