---
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: hybrid
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '21948'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: The cerebral cortex comprises diverse neuron and glial cell types generated
    by radial glial progenitors (RGPs) during development. Although RGPs broadly differentiate
    according to temporally and spatially regulated molecular logics, the lineage
    hierarchies linking individual progenitors to defined cell (sub)types are not
    well understood. Clone-resolved transcriptomics, combining molecular barcoding
    and single-cell RNA sequencing, allow high-resolution lineage tracing at the single-clone/cell
    level across different species and models. In this mini-review, we synthesize
    recent advances in this field, uncovering unexpected lineage relationships in
    the developing brain, with a particular focus on the cerebral cortex. We further
    highlight new insights into species-specific differences in the developmental
    programs generating cell-type diversity, linking changes in clonal architecture
    to lineage diversification during cortical evolution.
acknowledgement: We wish to thank all members of the Hippenmeyer laboratory at ISTA
  for exciting discussions on the subject of this review. We apologize to colleagues
  whose work we could not cite and/or discuss in the frame of the available space.
  Work in the Hippenmeyer laboratory on the discussed topic is supported by ISTA institutional
  funds, an EMBO LTF (ALTF 994–2023) to F.P., FWF SFB F78 (10.55776/F78) to S.H.,
  and FWF Cluster of Excellence COE16 (10.55776/COE16) to S.H.
article_number: '102487'
article_processing_charge: Yes (via OA deal)
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Irene
  full_name: Varela Martínez, Irene
  id: a69b5985-8829-11f0-8fc2-d0af58f64471
  last_name: Varela Martínez
- first_name: Fabrizia
  full_name: Pipicelli, Fabrizia
  id: 649134fd-d012-11ed-8f82-db1e5050f9ba
  last_name: Pipicelli
- first_name: Simon
  full_name: Hippenmeyer, Simon
  id: 37B36620-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Hippenmeyer
  orcid: 0000-0003-2279-1061
citation:
  ama: 'Varela Martínez I, Pipicelli F, Hippenmeyer S. Tracing cell lineages in the
    developing brain: Insights from mosaic analysis and clone-resolved transcriptomics.
    <i>Current Opinion in Genetics and Development</i>. 2026;99. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2026.102487">10.1016/j.gde.2026.102487</a>'
  apa: 'Varela Martínez, I., Pipicelli, F., &#38; Hippenmeyer, S. (2026). Tracing
    cell lineages in the developing brain: Insights from mosaic analysis and clone-resolved
    transcriptomics. <i>Current Opinion in Genetics and Development</i>. Elsevier.
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2026.102487">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2026.102487</a>'
  chicago: 'Varela Martínez, Irene, Fabrizia Pipicelli, and Simon Hippenmeyer. “Tracing
    Cell Lineages in the Developing Brain: Insights from Mosaic Analysis and Clone-Resolved
    Transcriptomics.” <i>Current Opinion in Genetics and Development</i>. Elsevier,
    2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2026.102487">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2026.102487</a>.'
  ieee: 'I. Varela Martínez, F. Pipicelli, and S. Hippenmeyer, “Tracing cell lineages
    in the developing brain: Insights from mosaic analysis and clone-resolved transcriptomics,”
    <i>Current Opinion in Genetics and Development</i>, vol. 99. Elsevier, 2026.'
  ista: 'Varela Martínez I, Pipicelli F, Hippenmeyer S. 2026. Tracing cell lineages
    in the developing brain: Insights from mosaic analysis and clone-resolved transcriptomics.
    Current Opinion in Genetics and Development. 99, 102487.'
  mla: 'Varela Martínez, Irene, et al. “Tracing Cell Lineages in the Developing Brain:
    Insights from Mosaic Analysis and Clone-Resolved Transcriptomics.” <i>Current
    Opinion in Genetics and Development</i>, vol. 99, 102487, Elsevier, 2026, doi:<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2026.102487">10.1016/j.gde.2026.102487</a>.'
  short: I. Varela Martínez, F. Pipicelli, S. Hippenmeyer, Current Opinion in Genetics
    and Development 99 (2026).
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2026-06-07T22:01:35Z
date_published: 2026-05-29T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-06-08T07:42:16Z
day: '29'
ddc:
- '570'
department:
- _id: SiHi
doi: 10.1016/j.gde.2026.102487
external_id:
  pmid:
  - '42214837'
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '        99'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2026.102487
month: '05'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
pmid: 1
project:
- _id: 7c084566-9f16-11ee-852c-c88a1dbbf1cf
  grant_number: ALTF 994-2023
  name: Role of cell lineage in generating cell-type diversity in developing neocortex’
- _id: 059F6AB4-7A3F-11EA-A408-12923DDC885E
  grant_number: F7805
  name: Stem Cell Modulation in Neural Development and Regeneration/ P05-Molecular
    Mechanisms of Neural Stem Cell Lineage Progression
publication: Current Opinion in Genetics and Development
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1879-0380
  issn:
  - 0959-437X
publication_status: epub_ahead
publisher: Elsevier
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: 'Tracing cell lineages in the developing brain: Insights from mosaic analysis
  and clone-resolved transcriptomics'
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 99
year: '2026'
...