Transcriptional dynamics of delaminating neuroblasts in the mouse otic vesicle
An abundance of research has recently highlighted the susceptibility of cochleovestibular ganglion (CVG) neurons to noise damage and aging in the adult cochlea, resulting in hearing deficits. Furthering our understanding of the transcriptional cascades that contribute to CVG development may provide insight into how these cells can be regenerated to treat inner ear dysfunction. Here we perform a high-depth single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of the E10.5 otic vesicle and its surrounding tissues, including CVG precursor neuroblasts and emerging CVG neurons. Clustering and trajectory analysis of otic lineage cells reveals otic markers and the changes in gene expression that occur from neuroblast delamination towards the development of the CVG. This dataset provides a valuable resource for further identifying the mechanisms associated with CVG development from neurosensory competent cells within the otic vesicle. Overall design: tdTomato+ cells from E10.5 Pax2Cre/+;Ai14tdTomato/+ microdissected mouse otic vesicles were isolated by flourescence activated cell sorting (FACS) and lysed. cDNA for each cell was generated using the Clontech SMARTer Ultra Low Input RNA kit V3, followed by library construction using the Nextera XT DNA Sample Preparation kit. Cells were sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq 2500 sequencer using 75 base pair (bp) paired-end reads.