TY - JOUR TI - A cell atlas of the chick retina based on single-cell transcriptomics AU - Yamagata, Masahito AU - Yan, Wenjun AU - Sanes, Joshua R A2 - Desplan, Claude A2 - Bronner, Marianne E A2 - Baden, Tom VL - 10 PY - 2021 DA - 2021/01/04 SP - e63907 C1 - eLife 2021;10:e63907 DO - 10.7554/eLife.63907 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.63907 AB - Retinal structure and function have been studied in many vertebrate orders, but molecular characterization has been largely confined to mammals. We used single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to generate a cell atlas of the chick retina. We identified 136 cell types plus 14 positional or developmental intermediates distributed among the six classes conserved across vertebrates – photoreceptor, horizontal, bipolar, amacrine, retinal ganglion, and glial cells. To assess morphology of molecularly defined types, we adapted a method for CRISPR-based integration of reporters into selectively expressed genes. For Müller glia, we found that transcriptionally distinct cells were regionally localized along the anterior-posterior, dorsal-ventral, and central-peripheral retinal axes. We also identified immature photoreceptor, horizontal cell, and oligodendrocyte types that persist into late embryonic stages. Finally, we analyzed relationships among chick, mouse, and primate retinal cell classes and types. Our results provide a foundation for anatomical, physiological, evolutionary, and developmental studies of the avian visual system. KW - retina KW - photoreceptor KW - cell atlas KW - scRNAseq KW - retinal ganglion cell KW - evolution JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -