Single-cell transcriptomic analysis of Sox17-expressing lineages reveals dynamic developmental trajectories and distinct gene regulatory networks during embryogenesis

As Sox17 plays a critical role in the development of multiple cell types during early embryogenesis, we utilized a dual-color lineage-tracing strategy in combination with single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) to capture and analyze Sox17-expressing lineages. GFP production from Sox17GFPCre allele marks cells that currently express Sox17 or short-term progeny of Sox17 expressing progenitors. TdTomato production from R26LSL.TdTomato reporter allele in the presence of Sox17GFPCre marks long-term progeny of Sox17-expressing progenitors. In brief, GFP and Tdtomato positive cells were isolated from E9.5 embryos of specific genotypes to generate two separate scRNAseq datasets, referred to in the manuscript as the GFP and TdTomato datasets, respectively.