Project description:Whole-genome methylomes and total transcriptomes for muscle and liver tissues of Lake Malawi cichlid species characterised in the context of phenotypic diversification.
Project description:We use the continuously replacing dentition of Lake Malawi cichlid fishes to understand de-novo tooth replacement in adult vertebrates. In this system, each tooth is replaced in a one-for-one fashion every ~50 days. Here, we explore the source of epithelial stem cells for tooth replacement.
Project description:Here we use single nuclei RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) of replacement teeth and adjacent oral lamina in Lake Malawi cichlids, species with lifelong whole-tooth replacement, to make two main discoveries. First, despite hundreds of millions of years of evolution, we demonstrate conservation of cell type gene expression across vertebrate teeth (fish, mouse, human). Second, we used an approach that combines marker gene expression and developmental potential of dental cells to uncover the transcriptional signature of stem-like cells in regenerating teeth. Our work underscores the importance of a comparative framework in the study of vertebrate oral and regenerative biology.
Project description:Here we use single nuclei RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) of replacement teeth and adjacent oral lamina in Lake Malawi cichlids, species with lifelong whole-tooth replacement, to make two main discoveries. First, despite hundreds of millions of years of evolution, we demonstrate conservation of cell type gene expression across vertebrate teeth (fish, mouse, human). Second, we used an approach that combines marker gene expression and developmental potential of dental cells to uncover the transcriptional signature of stem-like cells in regenerating teeth. Our work underscores the importance of a comparative framework in the study of vertebrate oral and regenerative biology.
