A Quantitative Lineage-Tracing Approach to Understand Morphogenesis in Gut

Area of Science:

• Developmental Biology
• Stem Cell Biology
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Lineage-tracing experiments are crucial for understanding cell progeny and fate.
• Inducible recombinases and fluorescent reporters are key tools for defining cellular hierarchies and identifying stem cells in vivo.
• Refined lineage tracing enables quantitative analysis of clonal dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a protocol for lineage tracing of fetal intestinal epithelium to the adult intestine.
• To demonstrate the broad applicability of lineage tracing for assessing fetal cell fate during morphogenesis.
• To provide a comprehensive in vivo analysis of cellular behavior.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing inducible recombinases and fluorescent reporters for cell labeling.
• Single-cell labeling and quantitative analysis of clonal dynamics.
• Applying lineage tracing to fetal intestinal epithelium for tracking cell fate to adulthood.

Main Results:

• Established cellular hierarchies in tissues.
• Quantified the frequency of cell fate decisions on a population basis.
• Enabled comparison of different stem cell populations and replenishment mechanisms.

Conclusions:

• Lineage tracing provides a comprehensive analysis of cellular behavior in vivo.
• This approach is widely applicable for quantitatively assessing fetal cell fate during morphogenesis.
• The described protocol facilitates detailed study of stem cell populations and tissue development.