Positional coding along the anterior-posterior axis is regulated by HOX genes, whose 3’ to 5’ expression correlates with location along this axis. The precise utilisation of HOX genes in different human cell types is not fully understood. Here, we use single-cell and spatial-transcriptomics, along with in-situ sequencing, to create a developmental atlas of the human fetal spine. We analyse HOX gene expression across cell types during development, finding that neural-crest derivatives unexpectedly retain the anatomical HOX code of their origin while also adopting the code of their destination. This trend is confirmed across multiple organs. In the axial plane of the spinal cord, we find distinct patterns in the ventral and dorsal domains, providing insights into motor pool organisation and loss of collinearity in HOXB genes. Our findings shed new light on HOX gene expression in the developing spine, highlighting a HOX gene ‘source code’ in neural-crest cell derivatives.

沿前后轴的位置编码受 HOX 基因调节，其 3' 到 5' 的表达与沿该轴的位置相关。HOX 基因在不同人类细胞类型中的确切利用尚不完全清楚。在这里，我们使用单细胞和空间转录组学以及原位测序来创建人类胎儿脊柱的发育图谱。我们分析了发育过程中不同细胞类型的 HOX 基因表达，发现神经嵴衍生物出乎意料地保留了其起源的解剖学 HOX 密码，同时也采用了其目的地的密码。这种趋势在多个器官中得到证实。在脊髓的轴向平面，我们在腹侧和背侧区域发现了不同的模式，从而深入了解 HOXB 基因的运动池组织和共线性的丧失。我们的研究结果为发育中的脊柱中的 HOX 基因表达提供了新的思路，突出了神经嵴细胞衍生物中的 HOX 基因“源代码”。