A lineage-resolved molecular atlas of C. elegans embryogenesis at single-cell resolution

Identifying terminal nematode cells Single-cell RNA sequencing provides the power to identify the developmental trajectory of an organism. However, identifying the temporal lineage of cell development can be difficult without large-scale analyses. Packer et al. sequenced more than 80,000 cells from embryos of the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans to determine the expression of genes directing the development of terminal cell types. Because all somatic cells in a C. elegans individual have been mapped, the authors are able to connect gene expression with cell lineages over time during development, noting stark transitions in some cases. Science , this issue p. eaax1971