Spatial transcriptome of Nematostella vectensis apical organ reveals its molecular signature and associated cells

The spatial transcriptome data has allowed us to explore the differential gene expression among the oral-aboral domains and provided new insights into the apical organ signalling pathways for future mechanistic studies and genes associated with oral/aboral differentiation. This resource identifies numerous candidates for elucidating the functional role of the apical organ and to address the evolution of the metazoan larval nervous system. Here, we uncovered the molecular signature of the apical organ in N. vectensis through spatial transcriptomics. We performed microdissection on N. vectensis larvae and carefully separated the aboral tissue from the rest of the larval body at the planula and late planula development stages.We acquired transcriptome data from both the aboral tissue and the rest of the body separately to perform differential gene expression (DGE) analysis.