Cellular development and evolution of the mammalian cerebellum. (10.1038/s41586-023-06884-x [doi])

These scientists wanted to learn more about how the brain develops in different types of mammals, like humans, mice, and opossums. They focused on a specific part of the brain called the cerebellum, which helps with balance and coordination.

To do this, the scientists used a special technique called single-nucleus RNA-sequencing. This allowed them to look at the genetic material inside individual cells in the cerebellum. They studied around 400,000 cells from different stages of development, from when the brain is just starting to form to when it is fully grown.

By looking at the genetic material, the scientists were able to figure out what types of cells were present in the cerebellum and how they changed as the brain developed. They found that most of the cell types were similar across all three species, but there were some differences too.

One interesting finding was that a type of cell called Purkinje cells had more subtypes in humans compared to mice and opossums. This suggests that humans have evolved to have more specialized Purkinje cells.

The scientists also looked at the genes that were active in the different cell types. They found that many of the genes were the same across all three species, which means they have been important for a very long time in the evolution of mammals. However, they also found some genes that were different in each species, showing that the cerebellum has evolved in its own unique way in each animal.

Overall, this study helps us understand how the cerebellum develops in different mammals and how it has changed over millions of years of evolution.

Sepp M., Leiss K., Murat F., Okonechnikov K., Joshi P., Leushkin E., Spanig L., Mbengue N., Schneider C., Schmidt J., Trost N., Schauer M., Khaitovich P., Lisgo S., Palkovits M., Giere P., Kutscher LM., Anders S., Cardoso-Moreira M., Sarropoulos I., Pfister SM., Kaessmann H. Cellular development and evolution of the mammalian cerebellum. Nature. 2024 Jan;625(7996):788-796. doi: 10.1038/s41586-023-06884-x. Epub 2023 Nov 29.