scATAC-seq data of pig brains
Pig brains are valuable models for studying brain diseases due to their structural similarities to human brains. However, understanding the regulatory mechanisms in pig brains is challenging due to cellular heterogeneity. This study aimed to investigate the heterogeneity of pig brains and uncover the underlying regulatory mechanisms at single-cell resolution. We created the first single-cell chromatin accessibility atlas of the cerebral cortex and cerebellum in domestic pigs and wild boars using single-cell ATAC-seq (scATAC-seq). We profiled 71,798 cells, identifying nine cell types, and integrated single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data to characterize cell type-specific regulatory landscapes and oligodendrocyte development. Our analysis revealed that oligodendrocyte progenitor cells exhibit the fastest evolutionary rate between domestic pigs and wild boars. Additionally, cross-species comparison showed that pig regulatory elements are more conserved with humans than those in mice. Notably, genetic variant enrichment studies found that regulatory elements associated with Alzheimer's disease were significantly enriched in pigs but not in mice, suggesting pigs as a potentially superior model for this condition. Conversely, neurological diseases like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder showed higher enrichment in mice. Overall design: We dissected the cerebral cortex and cerebellum of a duroc pig and a wild boar. The cerebral cortex was further subdivided into the frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes. scATAC-seq experiments were performed on these samples.