Extended Data Fig. 6: Atlas of the glial cell types.

a, Cell types, states and subtypes of glial cells, including neural progenitor cells. For the categories not detected in all species, superscript text specifies the dataset(s) where a category is present: h, human; m, mouse; o, opossum. b, Expression of key marker genes in glial cell states and subtypes in mouse, human and opossum. Dot size and colour indicate the fraction of cells expressing each gene and the mean expression level scaled per species and gene, respectively. c, Relative abundances of astroglia subtypes, ependymal progenitors and preOPCs across developmental stages. Colours are as in a; astroglial cells not assigned to a subtype are in grey. Stages are aligned as in Fig. 1a. Human adult samples dissected from the deep nuclei region were excluded. d, Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP) of 28,486 mouse, 32,897 human and 20,742 opossum glial cells coloured by their subtype or state. Colours and numbers as in a. Progenitors not assigned to a subtype are in grey. Mouse roof plate progenitors and human preOPCs are low in numbers and not discernible in this UMAP. Inclusion of human adult samples dissected from the deep nuclei region explains the high numbers of oligodendrocytes in the human UMAP. e,f, Spearman’s correlation coefficients between orthologous variable gene expression profiles from mouse, human and opossum early progenitors (e; n = 92 genes) or late progenitors and other glial cells (f; n = 129 genes). Dots indicate the highest correlation for each column. g, Distribution of cell cycle score values across glial categories in mouse, human and opossum. Points indicate median score value. h, Spatial distribution of astroglia lineage cells in mouse E15.5 cerebellar primordium based on RNA in situ hybridization data¹⁵ for marker genes. Sagittal sections counterstained with HP Yellow are shown. The regions in nuclear transitory zone (1) and cortical transitory zone (2) shown with rectangles at left are expanded at right, and highlight marker expression outside the VZ and RL. Coloured arrows indicate expression domains along the ventricular zone (including the VZ of the rhombic lip). i, Human 12 wpc cerebellum smFISH data for markers of astroglia lineage. The locations of the regions expanded at the right are shown with rectangles (solid line) on the whole section at the left. Coloured arrows indicate expression domains along the ventricular zone (including the VZ of the rhombic lip). Black arrows indicate proliferative progenitor cells. Insets (dashed line) show close-ups of regions or individual cells. The same regions and cells are shown in top and bottom panels. SLIT2, a marker of RL progenitors is expressed in the the rhombic lip VZ (1); progenitors expressing KIRREL2, a marker of VZ progenitors, are present in the VZ and adjacent subventricular zone (2); progenitors expressing GLIS3, enriched in bipotent progenitors, are detected in the PWM/NTZ (3), progenitors in the forming Purkinje cell layer in CTZ express TNC, a marker of gliogenic progenitors (4). j, Human 12 wpc cerebellum smFISH data for markers of oligodendrocytes and mesodermal cell types. The locations of the regions expanded at the bottom are shown with rectangles (solid line) on the whole section at the top. Black arrows indicate example cells from different cell types. One multiplexed smFISH experiment was performed. astro, astrocyte; COP, committed oligodendrocyte precursor; CTZ, cortical transitory zone; endoth., endothelial; MB, midbrain; NTZ, nuclear transitory zone; OPC, oligodendrocyte progenitor cell; preOPC, precursor of oligodendrocyte progenitor; PWM, prospective white matter; RL, rhombic lip; RP, roof plate; VZ, ventricular zone.