A conserved logic for the development of cortical layering in tetrapods

Abstract

The cerebral cortex is part of the pallium, a brain region conserved across vertebrates yet remarkably diverse in structure and cellular composition. A defining feature of the cerebral cortex is its organization into neuronal layers with distinct gene expression profiles, input-output connectivity, and function. According to prevailing models, the cerebral cortex emerged in ancestral amniotes (mammals and reptiles) following innovations in pallial development that enabled the generation of diverse neuron types and their laminar organization.1-11 However, little is known about pallial development and architecture in amphibians, the sister group of amniotes. Here we show that in the salamander Pleurodeles waltl, the dorsal pallium is organized in distinct superficial and deep layers with neurons that develop following cellular and molecular principles of mammalian corticogenesis. Using birthdating analysis, barcode-based lineage tracing, and single-cell RNA sequencing, we find that radial glia temporal states and intermediate progenitor cells are conserved across species, while neuronal differentiation trajectories are highly evolvable. Neurons generated at different developmental time points occupy different layers and exhibit distinct molecular and projection identities. Thus, temporally-patterned neurogenesis represents an ancient organizing principle of layered pallia, although mammals display an inverted layer order along the radial axis. Together, these findings demonstrate that the core developmental principles underlying cortical layering - including temporal patterning, intermediate progenitors, and laminar organization - predate the origin of amniotes. Our results suggest that the evolutionary expansion of the mammalian neocortex built upon a deeply conserved developmental framework already present in early tetrapods.