Enrichment of neural crest cells by antibody labelling and flow cytometry for single-cell transcriptomics in a lizard

Single-cell transcriptomic data were generated from embryos of the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis). Neural crest cells (NCCs) were enriched by fluorescence-activated cell sorting based on HNK-1 antibody staining. The dataset includes two unsorted samples representing all embryonic cells, one leniently sorted sample containing the top 15% of HNK-1–positive cells, and two strictly sorted samples containing the top 5% of HNK-1–positive cells. Unsorted and leniently sorted samples were generated from pools of three embryos each and sequenced using the 10x Genomics Chromium platform. Strictly sorted samples were generated from a single embryo, split across two plates, and sequenced using the Smart-seq3 protocol. These data enable characterization of NCC transcriptional profiles in a non-model vertebrate species and provide a resource for studying neural crest biology in systems lacking transgenic tools. Overall design: Eggs were collected within 24 h of oviposition and incubated at 24C. Eggs were dissected in cold PBS and embryos were dissociated, fixed by methanol, stored at -80C, stained with HNK-1 and sorted using FACS. The unsorted samples were not stained or sorted. The Leniently sorted sample consist of cells above the 85th percentile of HNK-1 staining. The Strictly sorted samples consist of cells above the 95th percentile of HNK-1 staining.