Temporal and Spatial Transcriptomic Dynamics across Brain Development in Xenopus laevis tadpoles

We conducted differential gene expression analyses of the developing X. laevis tadpole midbrain between stages 44 and 61, and across brain regions at stage 46. We found that genes pertaining to positive regulation of neural progenitor cell proliferation as well as known progenitor cell markers were upregulated in the midbrain prior to metamorphic climax; concurrently, expression of cell cycle timing regulators decreased across this period. We also found that at the start of metamorphosis, neural progenitor populations appeared to be similar across the fore-, mid-, and hindbrain regions. Genes pertaining to negative regulation of differentiation were upregulated in the spinal cord compared to the rest of the brain. Finally, we found that regulation of biological processes like cell fate commitment and synaptic signaling follow similar trajectories in the brain across early tadpole metamorphosis and mid- to late-embryonic mouse development. Overall design: Comparison of mRNA profiles in the X. laevis midbrain at stages 44, 46, 55, 61; and across the spinal cord, hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain at stage 46