{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]],"date-time":"2026-10-02T17:03:59Z","timestamp":1790960639152,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,27]],"date-time":"2026-05-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779840000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012166","name":"National Key Research and Development Program of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2023YFD1300304"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023YFD1300304"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012166","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32302729"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32302729"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["32302729"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32302729"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Yuelushan Laboratory Breeding Program","award":["YLS-2025-ZY02024"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["YLS-2025-ZY02024"]}]},{"name":"China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA","award":["CARS-42-7"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CARS-42-7"]}]},{"name":"SAAS Program for Excellent Research Team","award":["2022-021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022-021"]}]},{"name":"Key Research and Development Program of Ningbo","award":["2023Z126"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2023Z126"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cells"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Skeletal muscle satellite cells (SMSCs) are essential for embryonic myogenesis and postnatal muscle regeneration; however, their cellular heterogeneity and transcriptional dynamics during avian development remain largely unexplored. Here, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) on 42,886 cells isolated from goose leg muscles across four embryonic stages (E13, E15, E18, and E23), with each stage comprising pooled tissues from four female embryos. Unbiased clustering resolved 22 transcriptionally distinct clusters representing six major cell types\u2014satellite cells, myocytes, fibro-adipogenic progenitors, endothelial cells, immune cells, and Schwann cells\u2014with satellite cells being the most abundant. Satellite cells were further subdivided into three functional states (quiescent, activated, and proliferative\/differentiating), which followed a continuous, linear pseudotime trajectory from early to late embryonic stages. This trajectory was marked by a progressive downregulation of stemness-associated regulators (e.g., PAX7) and upregulation of myogenic commitment and differentiation factors (e.g., MYF5, MYOD1, and MYOG), faithfully mirroring chronological development. Cell\u2013cell communication analysis revealed that quiescent satellite cells exhibited the most extensive intercellular signaling networks (e.g., FGFR, Ephrin, collagen, CADM), whereas activated and proliferative\/differentiating cells showed progressively diminished communication capacity. Across developmental stages, the contribution intensities of key signaling pathways\u2014including SEMA6, CDH, FGF, LAMININ, MK, MPZ, CADM, FN1, and COLLAGEN\u2014varied significantly among satellite cell states, indicating state-specific responsiveness to microenvironmental cues. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that satellite cells dynamically coordinate extrinsic signal integration with intrinsic differentiation programs to achieve orderly myogenic progression. This study provides a high-resolution single-cell atlas of goose SMSC development, uncovering subpopulation heterogeneity, state-specific molecular signatures, and key signaling pathways, with important implications for avian muscle biology and genetic improvement of poultry.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells15110983","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,27]],"date-time":"2026-05-27T14:36:56Z","timestamp":1779892616000},"page":"983","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Cellular Heterogeneity and Developmental Dynamics of Goose Satellite Cells During Embryogenesis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2723-5929","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cui","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201106, China"},{"name":"Shanghai Municipal Key Laboratory of Agri-Genetics and Breeding, Shanghai 201106, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yi","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201106, China"},{"name":"Shanghai Municipal Key Laboratory of Agri-Genetics and Breeding, Shanghai 201106, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guitao","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Yuelushan Laboratory, Changsha 410128, China"},{"name":"Hunan Institute of Animal and Veterinary Science, Changsha 410128, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chuang","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Yuelushan Laboratory, Changsha 410128, China"},{"name":"Hunan Institute of Animal and Veterinary Science, Changsha 410128, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3897-6837","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kai","family":"Shi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NingBo Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Ningbo 315040, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shufang","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NingBo Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Ningbo 315040, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huiying","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201106, China"},{"name":"Shanghai Municipal Key Laboratory of Agri-Genetics and Breeding, Shanghai 201106, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daqian","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai 201106, China"},{"name":"Shanghai Municipal Key Laboratory of Agri-Genetics and Breeding, Shanghai 201106, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3182746","DOI":"10.1155\/2016\/3182746","article-title":"How Muscle Structure and Composition Influence Meat and Flesh Quality","volume":"2016","author":"Listrat","year":"2016","journal-title":"Sci. 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