In a study appearing in Science, Christine Schnitzler, Assistant Professor of Biology at Whitney Laboratory and her colleagues from the University of California-Davis and Harvard University used single-cell sequencing techniques to explore the genetic trajectory for nearly 25,000 Hydra cells.
The researchers have used single-cell sequencing to track the developmental trajectory of 25,000 cells from adult Hydra animals. This study provides the researchers with a high resolution ‘cell atlas’ which is a molecular map of the cellular lineages of Hydra.
Hydra stem cells exist in a state of continuous renewal, giving the animal both regenerative capabilities and biological immortality. Mapping the developmental trajectories of Hydra’s three stem cell populations with single-cell sequencing allowed the researchers to capture genes that are expressed as the cells differentiate (specialize) from stem cells into different cell types. Hydra can continually regenerate its nervous system so studying this limitless regeneration at a molecular level may provide insight to those developing therapies and treatments for humans with neurodegenerative diseases.