PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Ortiz, Cantin
AU  - Navarro, Jose Fernandez
AU  - Jurek, Aleksandra
AU  - Märtin, Antje
AU  - Lundeberg, Joakim
AU  - Meletis, Konstantinos
TI  - Molecular atlas of the adult mouse brain
AID  - 10.1126/sciadv.abb3446
DP  - 2020 Jun 01
TA  - Science Advances
PG  - eabb3446
VI  - 6
IP  - 26
4099  - http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/26/eabb3446.short
4100  - http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/26/eabb3446.full
SO  - Sci Adv2020 Jun 01; 6
AB  - Brain maps are essential for integrating information and interpreting the structure-function relationship of circuits and behavior. We aimed to generate a systematic classification of the adult mouse brain based purely on the unbiased identification of spatially defining features by employing whole-brain spatial transcriptomics. We found that the molecular information was sufficient to deduce the complex and detailed neuroanatomical organization of the brain. The unsupervised (non-expert, data-driven) classification revealed new area- and layer-specific subregions, for example in isocortex and hippocampus, and new subdivisions of striatum. The molecular atlas further supports the characterization of the spatial identity of neurons from their single-cell RNA profile, and provides a resource for annotating the brain using a minimal gene set—a brain palette. In summary, we have established a molecular atlas to formally define the spatial organization of brain regions, including the molecular code for mapping and targeting of discrete neuroanatomical domains.