PUBLICATION

Single-cell transcriptomic profiling of the zebrafish inner ear reveals molecularly distinct hair cell and supporting cell subtypes

Authors
Shi, T., Beaulieu, M.O., Saunders, L.M., Fabian, P., Trapnell, C., Segil, N., Crump, J.G., Raible, D.W.
ID
ZDB-PUB-230105-1
Date
2023
Source
eLIFE   12: (Journal)
Registered Authors
Raible, David
Keywords
developmental biology, neuroscience, zebrafish
Datasets
GEO:GSE211728
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Ear, Inner*
  • Hair Cells, Auditory/physiology
  • Hair Cells, Auditory, Inner
  • Humans
  • Mammals/genetics
  • Transcriptome
  • Zebrafish*/genetics
(all 8)
PubMed
36598134 Full text @ Elife
Abstract
A major cause of human deafness and vestibular dysfunction is permanent loss of the mechanosensory hair cells of the inner ear. In non-mammalian vertebrates such as zebrafish, regeneration of missing hair cells can occur throughout life. While a comparative approach has the potential to reveal the basis of such differential regenerative ability, the degree to which the inner ears of fish and mammals share common hair cells and supporting cell types remains unresolved. Here we perform single-cell RNA sequencing of the zebrafish inner ear at embryonic through adult stages to catalog the diversity of hair cells and non-sensory supporting cells. We identify a putative progenitor population for hair cells and supporting cells, as well as distinct hair and supporting cell types in the maculae versus cristae. The hair cell and supporting cell types differ from those described for the lateral line system, a distributed mechanosensory organ in zebrafish in which most studies of hair cell regeneration have been conducted. In the maculae, we identify two subtypes of hair cells that share gene expression with mammalian striolar or extrastriolar hair cells. In situ hybridization reveals that these hair cell subtypes occupy distinct spatial domains within the three macular organs, the utricle, saccule, and lagena, consistent with the reported distinct electrophysiological properties of hair cells within these domains. These findings suggest that primitive specialization of spatially distinct striolar and extrastriolar hair cells likely arose in the last common ancestor of fish and mammals. The similarities of inner ear cell type composition between fish and mammals validate zebrafish as a relevant model for understanding inner ear-specific hair cell function and regeneration.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Figure Gallery (13 images) / 2
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Expression
Phenotype
No data available
Mutations / Transgenics
Allele Construct Type Affected Genomic Region
cz1701TgTransgenic Insertion
    w186TgTransgenic Insertion
      zf384TgTransgenic Insertion
        1 - 3 of 3
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        Human Disease / Model
        No data available
        Sequence Targeting Reagents
        No data available
        Fish
        Fish
        w186Tg
        WT
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        Antibodies
        Orthology
        No data available
        Engineered Foreign Genes
        Marker Marker Type Name
        CreEFGCre
        EGFPEFGEGFP
        mCherryEFGmCherry
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        Mapping
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        Citation
        Shi, T., Beaulieu, M.O., Saunders, L.M., Fabian, P., Trapnell, C., Segil, N., Crump, J.G., Raible, D.W. (2023) Single-cell transcriptomic profiling of the zebrafish inner ear reveals molecularly distinct hair cell and supporting cell subtypes. eLIFE. 12:.