Cross-species single-cell transcriptomics reveals neuronal similarities and heterogeneity in amniote pallium.

The amniote pallium, a vital component of the forebrain, exhibits considerable evolutionary divergence across species and mediates diverse functions, including sensory processing, memory formation, and learning. However, the relationships among pallial subregions in different species remain poorly characterized, particularly regarding the identification of homologous neurons and their transcriptional signatures. In this study, we utilized single-nucleus RNA sequencing to examine over 130 000 nuclei from the macaque ( ) neocortex, complemented by datasets from humans ( ), mice ( ), zebra finches ( ), turtles ( ), and lizards ( s), enabling comprehensive cross-species comparison.