Fig. 5: Heterogeneity in gene expression of morphologically similar primordial follicles.

Gene expression variation within the set of 15 primordial follicles was further inspected. A Principal component analysis (PCA) based on polyA-RNA expression divided the primordial follicles into two clusters by PC1, with child and adult follicles present in both. B In terms of morphology, the follicles from the two clusters were indistinguishable (adult n = 7 and child n = 8). C The two clusters differed by 636 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with the majority being upregulated in one of the clusters. D The top DEGs included many genes with known roles in follicle growth and activation (adult n = 7 and child n = 8). In box plots, the center line represents the median, the hinges correspond to the first and third quartiles (interquartile range), and the whiskers extend to 1.5 times the interquartile range from the hinges. E The associated enriched gene ontologies related to the regulation of proliferation, development, motility, and adhesion, suggesting that some of the primordial follicles had exited dormancy despite not showing morphological signs of activation. F Immunofluorescence staining of adult ovarian tissue (n = 1) with antibodies targeting YAP1 suggested the presence of dormant (no staining, red arrow) and activated primordial follicles (positive staining in granulosa cells, blue arrow). Source data are provided as a Source Data file.