Mammalian cortex comprises a variety of cells, but the extent of this cellular diversity is unknown. The authors defined cell types in the primary visual cortex of adult mice using single-cell transcriptomics. This revealed 49 cell types, including 23 GABAergic, 19 glutamatergic and 7 non-neuronal types. Nervous systems are composed of various cell types, but the extent of cell type diversity is poorly understood. We constructed a cellular taxonomy of one cortical region, primary visual cortex, in adult mice on the basis of single-cell RNA sequencing. We identified 49 transcriptomic cell types, including 23 GABAergic, 19 glutamatergic and 7 non-neuronal types. We also analyzed cell type–specific mRNA processing and characterized genetic access to these transcriptomic types by many transgenic Cre lines. Finally, we found that some of our transcriptomic cell types displayed specific and differential electrophysiological and axon projection properties, thereby confirming that the single-cell transcriptomic signatures can be associated with specific cellular properties.

Adult mouse cortical cell taxonomy revealed by single cell transcriptomics