Single cell RNA sequencing of P10 and adult vomeronasal organ of OMPCreR26AP2e and Controls

Neuronal identity dictates the position in an epithelium, and the ability to detect, process, and transmit specific signals to specified targets. Traditionally, transcription factors (TFs) determine cellular identity via direct modulation of genetic transcription and recruiting chromatin modifiers. However, our understanding of the mechanisms that define neuronal identity and their magnitude remains a critical barrier to elucidate the etiology of congenital and neurodegenerative disorders. The structure of the rodent vomeronasal organ provides a unique system to examine in detail the molecular mechanisms underlying the differentiation and maturation of chemosensory neurons (VSNs). Here we demonstrated that the identity of postmitotic/maturing VSNs and vomeronasal dependent behaviors can be reprogrammed through the rescue of AP-2e expression in the AP-2eNull mice and by inducing ectopic AP-2e expression in mature apical VSNs. Our data suggest that the transcription factor AP-2e directly controls the expression of batteries of vomeronasal genes. We employed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to understand the molecular differences between apical and basal VSNs and the effect of ectopically expressed Tfap2e/AP-2e in underlying cell fate specification of two major types of vomeronasal neurons in mice at two different stages of life, P10 and 3mo adult, to understand acute and long-term effects of ectopic AP-2e expression on the vomeronasal epithelium. The frozen single-cell sustpension was sent to Singulomics for high-throughput single-cell sequencing using the 10x Genomics Chromium Platform. contributor: Singulomics Corporation, Bronx, NY