Cerebral organoids-3D cultures of human cerebral tissue derived from pluripotent stem cells-have emerged as models of human cortical development. However, the extent to which in vitro organoid systems recapitulate neural progenitor cell proliferation and neuronal differentiation programs observed in vivo remains unclear.Here we use single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to dissect and compare cell composition and progenitor-to-neuron lineage relationships in human cerebral organoids and fetal neocortex. Covariation network analysis using the fetal neocortex data reveals known and previously unidentified interactions among genes central to neural progenitor proliferation and neuronal differentiation. In the organoid, we detect diverse progenitors and differentiated cell types of neuronal and mesenchymal lineages and identify cells that derived from regions resembling the fetal neocortex. We find that these organoid cortical cells use gene expression programs remarkably similar to those of the fetal tissue to organize into cerebral cortex-like regions. Our comparison of in vivo and in vitro cortical single-cell transcriptomes illuminates the genetic features underlying human cortical development that can be studied in organoid cultures.

Human neocortex expansion likely contributed to the remarkable cognitive abilities of humans. This expansion is thought to primarily reflect differences in proliferation versus differentiation of neural progenitors during cortical development. Here, we have searched for such differences by analysing cerebral organoids from human and chimpanzees using immunohistofluorescence, live imaging, and single-cell transcriptomics. We find that the cytoarchitecture, cell type composition, and neurogenic gene expression programs of humans and chimpanzees are remarkably similar. Notably, however, live imaging of apical progenitor mitosis uncovered a lengthening of prometaphase-metaphase in humans compared to chimpanzees that is specific to proliferating progenitors and not observed in non-neural cells. Consistent with this, the small set of genes more highly expressed in human apical progenitors points to increased proliferative capacity, and the proportion of neurogenic basal progenitors is lower in humans. These subtle differences in cortical progenitors between humans and chimpanzees may have consequences for human neocortex evolution.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.18683.001

BackgroundMembers of the canonical Transient Receptor Potential (TRPC) class of cationic channels function downstream of Gαq and PLCβ in Drosophila photoreceptors for transducing visual stimuli. Gαq has recently been implicated in olfactory sensing of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other odorants. Here we investigated the role of PLCβ and TRPC channels for sensing CO2 in Drosophila.Methodology/Principal FindingsThrough behavioral assays it was demonstrated that Drosophila mutants for plc21c, trp and trpl have a reduced sensitivity for CO2. Immuno-histochemical staining for TRP, TRPL and TRPγ indicates that all three channels are expressed in Drosophila antennae including the sensory neurons that express CO2 receptors. Electrophysiological recordings obtained from the antennae of protein null alleles of TRP (trp343) and TRPL (trpl302), showed that the sensory response to multiple concentrations of CO2 was reduced. However, trpl302; trp343 double mutants still have a residual response to CO2. Down-regulation of TRPC channels specifically in CO2 sensing olfactory neurons reduced the response to CO2 and this reduction was obtained even upon down-regulation of the TRPCs in adult olfactory sensory neurons. Thus the reduced response to CO2 obtained from the antennae of TRPC RNAi strains is not due to a developmental defect.ConclusionThese observations show that reduction in TRPC channel function significantly reduces the sensitivity of the olfactory response to CO2 concentrations of 5% or less in adult Drosophila. It is possible that the CO2 receptors Gr63a and Gr21a activate the TRPC channels through Gαq and PLC21C.

In Drosophila melanogaster, gustatory receptor genes (Grs) encode putative G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that are expressed in gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs). One of the Gr genes, Gr5a, encodes a receptor for trehalose that is expressed in a subset of GRNs. Although a role for the G protein, Gsα, has been shown in Gr5a-expressing taste neurons, there is the residual responses to trehalose in Gsα mutants which could suggest additional transduction mechanisms. Expression and genetic analysis of the heterotrimeric G-protein subunit, Gq, shown here suggest involvement of this Gα subunit in trehalose perception in Drosophila. A green fluorescent protein reporter of Gq expression is detected in gustatory neurons in the labellum, tarsal segments, and wing margins. Animals heterozygous for dgq mutations and RNA interference-mediated knockdown of dgq showed reduced responses to trehalose in the proboscis extension reflex assay and feeding behavior assay. These defects were rescued by targeted expression of the wild-type dgqα transgene in the GRNs. These data together with observations from other mutants in phospholipid signaling provide insights into the mechanisms of taste transduction in Drosophila.