
==== Front
bioRxiv
BIORXIV
bioRxiv
2692-8205
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

10.1101/2024.02.22.581574
preprint
3
Article
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Organization of the Mouse Vomeronasal organ at Single Cell Resolution
Hills Max http://orcid.org/0009-0004-8464-9989

Ma Limei http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8375-5588

Fang Ai http://orcid.org/0009-0004-7724-4801

Chiremba Thelma http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3977-6872

Malloy Seth
Scott Allison
Perera Anoja
Yu C. Ron http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1555-8683

05 9 2024
2024.02.22.581574https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.
http://biorxiv.org/lookup/doi/10.1101/2024.02.22.581574
nihpp-2024.02.22.581574.pdf
SUMMARY

We have generated single cell transcriptomic atlases of vomeronasal organs (VNO) from juvenile and adult mice. Combined with spatial molecular imaging, we uncover a distinct, previously unidentified class of cells that express the vomeronasal receptors and a population of canonical olfactory sensory neurons in the VNO. High resolution trajectory and cluster analyses reveal the lineage relationship, spatial distribution of cell types, and a putative cascade of molecular events that specify the V1r, V2r, and OR lineages from a common stem cell population. The expression of vomeronasal and olfactory receptors follow power law distributions, but there is high variability in average expression levels between individual receptor and cell types. Substantial co-expression is found between receptors across clades, from different classes, and between olfactory and vomeronasal receptors, with nearly half from pairs located on the same chromosome. Interestingly, the expression of V2r, but not V1r, genes is associated with various transcription factors, suggesting distinct mechanisms of receptor choice associated with the two cell types. We identify association between transcription factors, surface axon guidance molecules, and individual VRs, thereby uncovering a molecular code that guides the specification of the vomeronasal circuitry. Our study provides a wealth of data on the development and organization of the accessory olfactory system at both cellular and molecular levels to enable a deeper understanding of vomeronasal system function.
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pmc
