Single cell RNA seq of the major cell types in the larva of the sea star, Patiria miniata

Background Echinoderms are invertebrate deuterostomes closely related to chordates and have become a tractable model for the study of the evolution of mechanisms involved in development, primordial germ cell specification, and regeneration. Sea urchins rely on inherited mechanisms for germline formation while sea stars rely instead on cell–cell inductive signaling mechanisms. Results Here, we present a single‐cell RNA sequencing of the sea star Patiria miniata development (days 1, 2, 3, and 4 after fertilization). This resource focuses mainly on the day3 larva, but also presents an integrated dataset of the 4 days combined. We identified each cell cluster of the larva using marker genes for in situ RNA hybridization and found that, surprisingly, the primordial germ cells share many gene expression profiles with cells in the coelomic pouches, and that the ectodermal epithelium is quite heterogeneous. Conclusion This dataset from the sea star provides a developmental trajectory of gene expression leading to each major cell type in the larva, providing a foundation for comparative analysis with other echinoderm species in parsing out mechanisms of developmental specification, regeneration, and germ line formation.