Retina Development in Vertebrates: Systems Biology Approaches to Understanding Genetic Programs: On the Contribution of Next-Generation Sequencing Methods to the Characterization of the Regulatory Networks Controlling Vertebrate Eye Development.
Lorena BuonoJuan Ramón Martinez-MoralesPublished in: BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology (2020)
The ontogeny of the vertebrate retina has been a topic of interest to developmental biologists and human geneticists for many decades. Understanding the unfolding of the genetic program that transforms a field of progenitors cells into a functionally complex and multi-layered sensory organ is a formidable challenge. Although classical genetic studies succeeded in identifying the key regulators of retina specification, understanding the architecture of their gene network and predicting their behavior are still a distant hope. The emergence of next-generation sequencing platforms revolutionized the field unlocking the access to genome-wide datasets. Emerging techniques such as RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq, or single cell RNA-seq are used to characterize eye developmental programs. These studies provide valuable information on the transcriptional and cis-regulatory profiles of precursors and differentiated cells, outlining the trajectories that connect each intermediate state. Here, recent systems biology efforts are reviewed to understand the genetic programs shaping the vertebrate retina.
Keyphrases
- rna seq
- single cell
- genome wide
- copy number
- dna methylation
- induced apoptosis
- high throughput
- diabetic retinopathy
- transcription factor
- optic nerve
- cell cycle arrest
- public health
- endothelial cells
- gene expression
- quality improvement
- cell death
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- cell proliferation
- heat shock
- signaling pathway