Evolutionary convergence and divergence of hippocampal cytoarchitecture between rodents and primates revealed by single-cell spatial transcriptomics
The hippocampus comprises subregions of distinct cell types critical for memory and cognition, but their gene expression profiles and spatial distribution patterns remain to be clarified. Using single-cell spatial transcriptomic analysis and single-nucleus RNA sequencing, we obtained transcriptome-based atlases for the macaque, marmoset and mouse hippocampus. Cross-species comparison revealed primate- and lamina-specific glutamatergic cell types in the subicular complex, as well as enrichment of <i>VIP</i>-expressing GABAergic cells from mice to primates, including humans. Furthermore, we found reduced transcriptomic differences between CA3 and CA4 subregions and distinct longitudinal distributions of various cell types and expression of ion-channel genes, correlated with differences in electrophysiological properties of CA3, CA4 and CA1 neurons revealed by slice recording from marmosets and mice. Collectively, this cross-species study provides a molecular and cellular basis for understanding the evolution and function of the hippocampus.
Authors
- Xiaojuan Gou
- Ning Liang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7848-2893)
- Zihan Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6342-9881)
- Xing Haw Marvin Tan
- Weiqi Deng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6069-8810)
- Yanbing Lu
- M. Z. Wang
- CiRong Liu
- Chengyu Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6829-0209)
- Yafeng Zhan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5115-7993)
- Guangling Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7120-3110)
- Shengjin Xu
- Chun Xie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0425-4166)
- Nicholas Mitsios (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6243-4953)
- Mengni Chen
- Xuyin Jiang
- Tianyi Fei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8093-6391)
- Shishuo Chen
- Yidi Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2157-1983)
- Biyu Ren (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7153-9322)
- Yingjie An
- Qinwen Chai
- Ying Xia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6720-041X)
- Jianhua Yao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0980-705X)
- Lijie Zhan
- M. Uhlen
- Zhifeng Liang
- Xiaogang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9255-7559)
- Yuanfang Xu
- Chenxi Jin
- Wendy Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8226-375X)
- He Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0165-8115)
- Jingjing Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7542-0646)
- Xining Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6492-779X)
- XiaoJia ZHU
- Duoyuan Chen
- Shuzhen Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9791-9029)
- Jan Mulder
- Jingfang Pan
- Liuqin Qian
- Haotian Yan
- Mu-ming Poo
- Mingyuan Zheng
- Mengdi Cao
- Jiahao Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4571-5427)
- Ruiqi Wang
- Chao Li
- Zhenkun Zhuang
- Chenxi Jin
- Jiao Fang
- Qian Yu
- Yannong Dou
- Yan-Gang Sun
- Yuzhe Huang
- Junkai Lin
- Hao Yang
- Wenqun Ding
- Yu Dong
- Ruiyi Zhang
- Taosha Gao
- Zhiming Shen
- Yan Li
- Chun Xu
- Minghai Li
- Huanhuan Li
- Li Li
- Shuting Li
- Yanqing Zhong
- Huateng Cao
- Shiping Liu
- Nini Yuan
- Shenyu Li
- Gang Cao
- Liqin Gu
- Shiwen Wang
Institutions
- Shenzhen Institute of Information Technology (CN)
- Kunming Institute of Zoology (CN)
- Huazhong Agricultural University (CN)
- Tencent (China) (CN)
- Shanghai Library (CN)
- Karolinska Institutet (SE)
- ShanghaiTech University (CN)
- Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (CN)
- Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University (CN)
- Botswana Geoscience Institute (BW)
- Shenzhen University Health Science Center (CN)
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (CN)
- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (CN)
- Shenzhen Technology University (CN)
- Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- BGI Research (CN)
- KTH Royal Institute of Technology (SE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- National Science Review
- Published
- 2025-12-31
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwaf595
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.81