Single-cell chromatin accessibility maps reveal regulatory programs driving early mouse organogenesis

Nat Cell Biol. 2020 Apr;22(4):487-497. doi: 10.1038/s41556-020-0489-9. Epub 2020 Mar 30.

Abstract

During mouse embryonic development, pluripotent cells rapidly divide and diversify, yet the regulatory programs that define the cell repertoire for each organ remain ill-defined. To delineate comprehensive chromatin landscapes during early organogenesis, we mapped chromatin accessibility in 19,453 single nuclei from mouse embryos at 8.25 days post-fertilization. Identification of cell-type-specific regions of open chromatin pinpointed two TAL1-bound endothelial enhancers, which we validated using transgenic mouse assays. Integrated gene expression and transcription factor motif enrichment analyses highlighted cell-type-specific transcriptional regulators. Subsequent in vivo experiments in zebrafish revealed a role for the ETS factor FEV in endothelial identity downstream of ETV2 (Etsrp in zebrafish). Concerted in vivo validation experiments in mouse and zebrafish thus illustrate how single-cell open chromatin maps, representative of a mammalian embryo, provide access to the regulatory blueprint for mammalian organogenesis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Lineage / genetics
  • Cell Nucleus / genetics
  • Cell Nucleus / metabolism
  • Chromatin / chemistry*
  • Chromatin / metabolism
  • Embryo, Mammalian
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian
  • Embryonic Development
  • Endothelial Cells / cytology
  • Endothelial Cells / metabolism*
  • Enhancer Elements, Genetic*
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Organ Specificity
  • Organogenesis / genetics*
  • Protein Binding
  • Single-Cell Analysis
  • T-Cell Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia Protein 1 / genetics*
  • T-Cell Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia Protein 1 / metabolism
  • Transcription Factors / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism
  • Transcription, Genetic
  • Zebrafish
  • Zebrafish Proteins / genetics
  • Zebrafish Proteins / metabolism

Substances

  • Chromatin
  • ER71 protein, mouse
  • Etv2 protein, zebrafish
  • Fev protein, mouse
  • T-Cell Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia Protein 1
  • Tal1 protein, mouse
  • Transcription Factors
  • Zebrafish Proteins