Transcriptomic landscape of developing Presomitic mesoderm (PSM)

Stem cell-derived tissues have wide potential for modelling developmental and pathological processes as well as cell-based therapy. However, it has proven difficult to generate several key cell types in vitro, including skeletal muscle. In vertebrates, skeletal muscles derive during embryogenesis from the presomitic mesoderm (PSM). Using PSM development as a guide to establish conditions for the differentiation of monolayer cultures of embryonic stem (ES) cells into PSM-like cells without the introduction of transgenes or cell sorting. We generated a high resolution transcriptome expression landscape along the PSM of the mouse embryo, by microdissecting consecutive fragment of the PSM along the antero-posterior axis of the embryo. We took advantage of the observation that during development of embryo, the antero-posterior spatial position of the tissue is directly correlated to its differentiation (time) stage, thus generating an expression time-course of presomitic mesoderm development.

21