{
  "abstract": "Colonial tunicates are the only chordates capable of forming fully functional bodies from somatic tissues through non-embryonic development, or budding. In Botryllus schlosseri , budding produces new individuals (zooids) from a portion of the peribranchial epithelium of a preexisting zooid. While the anatomy of this process has been described in detail, the cellular and molecular mechanisms underpinning bud initiation remain elusive. Here, we present a multi-stage single-cell transcriptomic atlas of a non-embryonic development in a chordate, capturing initiation and development of zooids. We identify an epithelial founder cell population that gains developmental potential through possible dedifferentiation, challenging the long-standing hypothesis that a long-lived, circulating pluripotent stem cell drives new zooid formation. Although some circulating cells exhibit stem-like expression profiles, these populations are either hematopoietic or germline restricted lineages. This atlas provides a foundational resource for understanding the cellular origin and mechanisms underlying agametic development and possibly whole-body regeneration in chordates.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 12,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Marie Lebel"
    },
    {
      "name": "Solène Marchal"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tiphaine Sancerni"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sharon Rabiteau"
    },
    {
      "name": "Pragati Sharma"
    },
    {
      "name": "Tal Scully"
    },
    {
      "name": "Estelle Balissat"
    },
    {
      "name": "Laurel Hiebert"
    },
    {
      "name": "Anthony de Tomaso"
    },
    {
      "name": "Allon Klein"
    },
    {
      "name": "Alexandre Alié"
    },
    {
      "name": "Stefano Tiozzo"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b2ceseg8zk78j.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41467-026-76441-3",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "b2ceseg8zk78j",
  "issns": [
    "2041-1723",
    "2041-1723"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05783956v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "hal",
      "0.sdv"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "1.sdv.bdd"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7171533041",
  "pdf_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05783956/document",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-03",
  "publisher": "Nature Publishing Group",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b2ceseg8zk78j.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:51Z",
      "native_id": "hal-05783956",
      "source": "hal",
      "url": "https://hal.science/hal-05783956v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "hal:1.sdv.bdd",
      "subfield": "developmental-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Multi-stage single-cell atlas of a chordate non-embryonic development unveils dedifferentiating bud founder cells",
  "title_text": "Multi-stage single-cell atlas of a chordate non-embryonic development unveils dedifferentiating bud founder cells",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:51Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/b2ceseg8zk78j",
  "venue": "Nature Communications",
  "versions": []
}