Long-term ex vivo live imaging combined with unbiased sampling of cycling precursors shows that macaque outer subventricular zone (OSVZ) includes four distinct basal radial glial (bRG) cell morphotypes, bearing apical and/or basal processes in addition to nonpolar intermediate progenitors (IPs). Each of the five precursor types exhibits extensive self-renewal and proliferative capacities as well as the ability to directly generate neurons, albeit with different frequencies. Cell-cycle parameters exhibited an unusual stage-specific regulation with short cell-cycle duration and increased rates of proliferative divisions during supragranular layer production at late corticogenesis. State transition analysis of an extensive clonal database reveals bidirectional transitions between OSVZ precursor types as well as stage-specific differences in their progeny and topology of the lineage relationships. These results explore rodent-primate differences and show that primate cortical neurons are generated through complex lineages by a mosaic of precursors, thereby providing an innovative framework for understanding specific features of primate corticogenesis.
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