Placenta plays a central role in prenatal development, yet it has been notably underrepresented in large-scale tissue-specific genomic and transcriptomic initiatives. Here, the authors generate a comprehensive placental transcriptome reference using long-read sequencing, revealing unexpected transcriptional complexity. Applied to gestational diabetes data, the reference identified pregnancy hormone isoforms mediating effects on newborn birth weight.
- Sean T. Bresnahan
- Hannah E. J. Yong
- Arjun Bhattacharya
