This article details the creation of a comprehensive, high-resolution cell-type atlas for the entire adult mouse brain. The research involved systematically generating two types of large-scale, single-cell-resolution transcriptomic datasets using scRNA-seq and MERFISH technologies. The study organizes over 5,300 distinct cell types into a four-level hierarchical taxonomy (classes, subclasses, supertypes, and clusters), further categorized into seven "neighborhoods" based on molecular and anatomical relatedness. A significant finding highlights the strong correspondence between a cell type's transcriptomic identity and its precise spatial location, with transcription factors playing a major role in defining cell-type identities. The atlas identifies diverse neuronal populations by neurotransmitter type (glutamatergic, GABAergic, cholinergic, dopaminergic, serotonergic, noradrenergic, and histaminergic), including instances of co-release, and also classifies non-neuronal cells like astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, revealing their regional specificities and interactions within the brain.

References:

• Yao Z, Van Velthoven C T J, Kunst M, et al. A high-resolution transcriptomic and spatial atlas of cell types in the whole mouse brain[J]. Nature, 2023, 624(7991): 317-332.