Transcriptome-Connectome association from fetal stage to adulthood

Motivation: Transcriptome, representing the set of gene expression, exhibits spatiotemporal heterogeneity during brain development, underlying the dramatic changes in brain structural connectivity as measured by diffusion MRI throughout development. Goal(s): Our goal was to elucidate the association between macroscopic structural connectome and microscopic transcriptome across development. Approach: Here, we revealed this dynamic association between structural connectome and gene expression from a large cohort of 336 participants from fetal stage to adulthood. Results: The changes of associated genes’ enrichment in cell types, biological processes, cellular components, and molecular functions across different ages shed light into the dynamic transcriptomic roles in connectome maturation. Impact: By associating transcriptome map from over 6500 protein-encoding genes and dMRI-derived structural network, we revealed spatiotemporally heterogeneous transcriptome-connectome association from fetal stage to adulthood, providing insights into genetically patterned process of brain topological changes in health and disease.