Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2025

VDJ-Seq: Deep Sequencing Analysis of Rearranged Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain Gene to Reveal Clonal Evolution Patterns of B Cell Lymphoma
Published on: December 28, 2015
Single-cell sequencing reveals the evolution of immune molecules across multiple vertebrate species
Anjun Jiao1, Cangang Zhang1, Xin Wang1
1Department of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China; Institute of Infection and Immunity, Translational Medicine Institute, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, China.
Introduction:
Both innate and adaptive immune system undergo evolution from low to high vertebrates. Due to the limitation of conventional approaches in identifying broader spectrum of immune cells and molecules from various vertebrates, it remains unclear how immune molecules evolve among vertebrates.
Objectives:
Here, we utilized carry out comparative transcriptome analysis in various immune cells across seven vertebrate species.
Methods:
Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq).
Results:
We uncovered both conserved and species-specific profiling of gene expression in innate and adaptive immunity. Macrophages exhibited highly-diversified genes and developed sophisticated molecular signaling networks along with evolution, indicating effective and versatile functions in higher species. In contrast, B cells conservatively evolved with less differentially-expressed genes in analyzed species. Interestingly, T cells represented a dominant immune cell populations in all species and unique T cell populations were identified in zebrafish and pig. We also revealed compensatory TCR cascade components utilized by different species. Inter-species comparison of core gene programs demonstrated mouse species has the highest similarity in immune transcriptomes to human.
Conclusions:
Therefore, our comparative study reveals gene transcription characteristics across multiple vertebrate species during the evolution of immune system, providing insights for species-specific immunity as well as the translation of animal studies to human physiology and disease.
More Related Videos
10:23Single-cell Gene Expression Using Multiplex RT-qPCR to Characterize Heterogeneity of Rare Lymphoid Populations
Published on: January 19, 2017
09:34A Combinatorial Single-cell Approach to Characterize the Molecular and Immunophenotypic Heterogeneity of Human Stem and Progenitor Populations
Published on: October 25, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons
Convergent Evolution
The Evidence for Evolution
Gene Evolution - Fast or Slow?
In contrast, regions which code...
Cells of the Adaptive Immune Response
Cells of the Innate Immune Response
Phagocytes
Phagocytes police the peripheral tissues by removing cellular debris and responding to the invasion of foreign substances or pathogens. Many phagocytes attack and remove microorganisms even before lymphocytes detect them. The human body has two general...