In vitro long-term culture of cynomolgus monkey embryos to early neurulation stage (maca_RNA_rawdata)

Neurulation is the process of forming the neural tube. The complex characteristics of primate neurulation remain mysterious due to the limited accessibility of primate embryos at this stage. Here, we established a 3D prolonged in vitro culture (pIVC) system to support the cynomolgus monkey blastocyst developing to E25 to early neurulation. The pIVC E25 embryos highly recapitulated the critical events of their in vivo counterparts during early neurulation, which include the specialization of the neural plate, closure of the neural tube, regionalization of neural tube cells, specialization and migration of neural crest cells and differentiation of motor neurons and sensory placodes. Single-cell multi-omics analysis of the pIVC embryos further verified the specification of early neural cells, suggesting the pIVC embryos developing to a more advanced stage. Besides, the DNA methylation and chromosome accessibility of three germ layers were in-deep analyzed. This study will help to explore the characteristics and underlying mechanisms of primate neurogenesis, which will be of fundamental and clinical importance.