Single-cell RNA sequencing illuminates the ontogeny, conservation and diversification of cartilaginous and bony fish lymphocytes
Elucidating cellular architecture and cell-type evolution across species is central to understanding immune system function and susceptibility to disease. Adaptive immunity is a shared trait of the common ancestor of cartilaginous and bony fishes. However, evolutionary features of lymphocytes in these two jawed vertebrates remain unclear. Here, we present a single-cell RNA sequencing atlas of immune cells from cartilaginous (white-spotted bamboo shark) and bony (zebrafish and Chinese tongue sole) fishes. Cross-species comparisons show that the same cell types across different species exhibit similar transcriptional profiles. In the bamboo shark, we identify a phagocytic B cell population expressing several pattern recognition receptors, as well as a T cell sub-cluster co-expressing both T and B cell markers. In contrast to a division by function in the bony fishes, we show close linkage and poor functional specialization among lymphocytes in the cartilaginous fish. Our cross-species single-cell comparison presents a resource for uncovering the origin and evolution of the gnathostome immune system.
Authors
- Yingyi Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5486-0441)
- Fujian Tan
- Inge Seim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8594-7217)
- Hongxi Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2814-4511)
- Qianyue Ji (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9311-360X)
- Yangqing Zhang
- Hang He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5481-8794)
- Yanan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9528-0273)
- Jia Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3652-1903)
- Hongyan Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1754-4018)
- Changwei Shao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6953-2203)
- Jian-Yang Chen
- Jun Zou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1440-9029)
- Shuhong Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3659-5950)
- Guangyi Fan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7365-1590)
- Rui Wang‐Sattler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8794-8229)
- Kaiqiang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7069-566X)
- Yubang Li
- Shuo Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4880-6105)
- Xiang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3914-5824)
- Shanshan Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4677-9948)
- Yingying Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4200-2760)
- Qian Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2149-384X)
- Qun Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1179-290X)
- Yuyan Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2305-1963)
- Xianghui Zhang
- Yifang Lu
- M. Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6454-3926)
- Li Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1043-7698)
- Shenglei Han
- Liang Meng
Institutions
- BGI Group (China) (CN)
- Qingdao University (CN)
- Nanjing Normal University (CN)
- Queensland University of Technology (AU)
- Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (CN)
- Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology (CN)
- Botswana Geoscience Institute (BW)
- Qingdao Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN)
- BGI Research (CN)
- Shanghai Ocean University (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-09-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51761-4
- Citations
- 14
- Primary Topic
- Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.27
Funders
- National Key Research and Development Program of China