OSCR

Single-cell transcriptomic profiling of C. elegans Q neuroblast lineage during migration and differentiation.

Overview

Authors: Felipe L. Teixeira1, Brian Sanderson1, Jennifer L. Hackett1, Erik A. Lundquist1
ORCID iDs: Felipe L. Teixeira, Brian Sanderson, Jennifer L. Hackett, Erik A. Lundquist
  1. Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States of America
Institutions: University of Kansas (United States)
Journal: PloS one, volume 21, issue 3, article e0343734
Dates: received 22 October 2025; accepted 10 February 2026; published online 3 March 2026
Type: Research article · Language: English
License: CC BY
Identifiers: DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0343734 · PMID 41774717 · PMCID PMC12956130 · OpenAlex W7133354289
Open access: gold, a free copy (OpenAlex)
Status: data only
Categories: genetics / omics (modality), C. elegans (organism)
Methods: Smoothing, state filtering, decompositions, Evoked potentials
MeSH: Caenorhabditis elegans*, Cell Differentiation*, Cell Lineage*, Cell Movement*, Neural Stem Cells*, Neurons*, Transcriptome*, Animals, Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins, Gene Expression Profiling, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Single-Cell Analysis, Single-Cell Gene Expression Analysis, Wnt Signaling Pathway (* major topic)
Journal subjects: Biology and Life Sciences, Genetics, Gene Expression, Cell Biology, Cellular Types, Animal Cells, Neuroblasts, Developmental Biology, Cell Differentiation, Neuronal Differentiation, Cell Processes, Cell Cycle and Cell Division, Cell Motility, Cell Migration, Neuron Migration, Computational Biology, Genome Analysis, Transcriptome Analysis, Genomics, Signal Transduction, Cell Signaling, Signaling Cascades, WNT Signaling Cascade, Research and Analysis Methods, Animal Studies, Experimental Organism Systems, Model Organisms, Caenorhabditis Elegans, Animal Models, Organisms, Eukaryota, Animals, Invertebrates, Nematoda, Caenorhabditis, Zoology
Topic: Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms (Aging, Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology), according to OpenAlex
Funding: NINDS (R01NS115467); NIGMS (P30GM145499, P20GM113117, P20GM103418); University of Kansas Center for Genomics
Citations: cited by 4 papers (Europe PMC); 103 references in the paper

Abstract

Proper migration and differentiation of neuroblasts into neurons are essential for the development of a healthy nervous system. In this context, the asymmetrical migration of Caenorhabditis elegans Q neuroblasts provides a powerful model for studying the genetic aspects of neuronal migration in vivo at single-cell resolution. We isolated Q lineage cells at various stages of development using FACS and employed single-cell RNA sequencing to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the migration and differentiation of these neuroblasts. We created a robust transcriptomic differentiation map of the Q neuroblast lineage and used established markers to identify each cell in the lineage. Our results revealed novel genes not previously described in these cells and linked the expression of known genes to specific stages of Q lineage progression. Furthermore, functional enrichment and imaging provided evidence that the parent Q cells are initially specified with an epithelial-like identity and undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition during the early stages of migration. We also identified novel Wnt-related expression, including left-right asymmetric expression of cwn-1 and cwn-2, and the involvement of the Wnt/β-catenin asymmetry pathway in the Q lineage. Our work offers a high-resolution view of neuroblast development, showcasing the power of single-cell transcriptomics to reveal stage-specific regulatory programs.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

The paper links to its data, not to its authors' code: see the Data section.

Tracing map

A tracing map links a paper to the code its authors published: this paper has none, so it has no map.

Data

Datasets cited

Data Availability

Raw single-cell RNA sequencing data is publicly available through NCBI’s Sequence Read Archive (SRA). BioProject Accession: PRJNA1300790 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA1300790).

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Versions

The history of this record: each version stored by the harvester or made by a correction of its authors or of the maintainers of its code, and what changed in its facts. The texts of the paper (its abstract, its availability statements) are not part of it; versions that changed only those are not listed.

Version 1, 30 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 4 authors, 14 MeSH terms, 3 funders, 102 references.

Cite

This paper

Teixeira, F. L., Sanderson, B., Hackett, J. L., & Lundquist, E. A. (2026). Single-cell transcriptomic profiling of C. elegans Q neuroblast lineage during migration and differentiation. PloS one, 21(3), e0343734. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0343734

BibTeX

@article{teixeira2026single,
author = {Teixeira, Felipe L. and Sanderson, Brian and Hackett, Jennifer L. and Lundquist, Erik A.},
title = {{Single-cell transcriptomic profiling of C. elegans Q neuroblast lineage during migration and differentiation}},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2026},
month = mar,
volume = {21},
number = {3},
pages = {e0343734},
publisher = {PLOS},
issn = {1932-6203},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0343734},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0343734},
pmid = {41774717},
pmcid = {PMC12956130}
}

RIS

TY - JOUR
AU - Teixeira, Felipe L.
AU - Sanderson, Brian
AU - Hackett, Jennifer L.
AU - Lundquist, Erik A.
TI - Single-cell transcriptomic profiling of C. elegans Q neuroblast lineage during migration and differentiation
T2 - PloS one
J2 - PLoS One
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/03/03
VL - 21
IS - 3
SP - e0343734
SN - 1932-6203
PB - PLOS
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0343734
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0343734
LA - en
ER -

CSL-JSON

{
"id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0343734",
"type": "article-journal",
"title": "Single-cell transcriptomic profiling of C. elegans Q neuroblast lineage during migration and differentiation",
"container-title": "PloS one",
"author": [
{
"family": "Teixeira",
"given": "Felipe L."
},
{
"family": "Sanderson",
"given": "Brian"
},
{
"family": "Hackett",
"given": "Jennifer L."
},
{
"family": "Lundquist",
"given": "Erik A."
}
],
"container-title-short": "PLoS One",
"volume": "21",
"issue": "3",
"page": "e0343734",
"DOI": "10.1371/journal.pone.0343734",
"PMID": "41774717",
"PMCID": "PMC12956130",
"ISSN": "1932-6203",
"publisher": "PLOS",
"URL": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0343734",
"language": "en",
"issued": {
"date-parts": [
[
2026,
3,
3
]
]
}
}

Similar papers

The papers with a page that share the most with this one: the tools found in their code, their categories, datasets, cited references and authors, the rarest counting most.

[1] doi:10.1038/s41467-026-76320-x [code]
Intrinsic and non-cell-autonomous roles for the neurodevelopmental syndrome-linked transcription factor UNC-3/EBF.
Journal: Nature communications
In common: C. elegans, 8 references
[2] doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10797-w [code]
A global molecular code for birth order and neuronal identity in Drosophila.
Journal: Nature
In common: genetics / omics, 6 references
[3] doi:10.7554/elife.108675 [code]
SynaptoTagMe, a toolkit for in vivo mapping and modulating neurotransmission at single-cell resolution.
Journal: eLife
In common: C. elegans, 4 references
[4] doi:10.1126/sciadv.aec9329
Cohesin and NuRD antagonistically drive alternative neuronal fates via PLZF transcription factors.
Journal: Science advances
In common: C. elegans, 4 references
[5] doi:10.1016/j.cub.2026.06.016 [code]
Neuronal RNAi and oxygen-sensing circuit shape germline resilience to heat stress.
Journal: Current biology : CB
In common: C. elegans, 3 references
[6] doi:10.1093/nar/gkag451 [code]
An in vivo parallelized reporter assay to uncover tissue-specific splicing regulatory sequences in a multicellular animal.
Journal: Nucleic acids research
In common: C. elegans, 3 references
[7] doi:10.1038/s42003-026-09915-1
Single cell and spatial sequencing analysis of cancer associated fibroblasts in the brain metastasis tumor microenvironment.
Journal: Communications biology
In common: genetics / omics, 4 references
[8] doi:10.1038/s41419-026-08807-w [code]
Single-cell profiling reveals distinct populations of tumor-associated macrophages and metastatic tumor cells in breast cancer brain metastasis.
Journal: Cell death & disease
In common: genetics / omics, 4 references
[9] doi:10.7554/elife.106347 [code]
Esr1-dependent signaling and transcriptional maturation in the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus shape the development of mating behavior during adolescence.
Journal: eLife
In common: genetics / omics, 4 references
[10] doi:10.1016/j.cell.2026.05.047 [code]
An emergent disease-associated motor neuron state precedes cell death in ALS.
Journal: Cell
In common: genetics / omics, 4 references

Contribute

The authors of this paper can claim it, correct its record and validate its tracing map, and the maintainers of its code (its owner, or a public member of its organization) correct what it says of their repository; anyone signed in can ask for its removal. Every request goes to OSCR's own machine, which answers it; your account page follows them.

Sign in with ORCID to claim this paper as one of its authors, correct its record or validate its tracing map: when the paper's metadata lists your ORCID iD, you are recognized at once. Maintainers of its code: sign in with GitHub, then claim the repository on your account page.

Request its removal

To ask OSCR to remove this record, the copies of its authors' scripts or its tracing map, use the removal request page: signed in, you say who you are, what to remove and why, then review and confirm the request. Published rules decide every request (how).

Discussion, reproductions, activity

Discussion: questions and error reports about this paper and its code, from signed-in readers and its authors. It opens with sign-in.

Reproductions: reports from readers who ran the authors' code: what they reproduced, with which environment, commit and data. It opens with sign-in.

Activity: what happens around this paper: new versions of its record, its map's validation, discussions and reproductions. It opens with sign-in.