Embryonic cell atlas maps how enhancers shape facial individuality
A spatiotemporally resolved cell atlas has charted enhancer-based control of human facial individuality, according to a paper in Nature Genetics. Researchers built the atlas from human embryonic craniofacial development. The facial skeleton is essential for eating, breathing, kissing, speech and personal identity, the authors wrote, and tracking how it forms in the embryo can deepen understanding of how genetics influences appearance. A 2018 paper in Cell Reports had already identified numerous facial enhancers using a 25-state chromatin model built from histone-modification profiling of fetal tissue.
The atlas could help identify the causes of rare congenital craniofacial anomalies, according to the authors.
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