Progenitor cell diversity in the developing mouse neocortex

Significance How projection neuron types are temporally and sequentially generated in the mammalian neocortex remains unclear. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of embryonic day (E) 10.5 through E18.5 mouse neocortical cells and identified progenitor cell types across development. Our results uncovered molecular signatures for neuroepithelial cells and temporal gene expression in radial glial progenitors. Importantly, Eomes -positive cells display temporal expression of previously characterized neuronal identity genes. These results delineate neocortical progenitor cell diversity and the timing of neuron type specification.