A transient role of primary cilia in controlling direct versus indirect neurogenesis in the developing cerebral cortex

During the development of the cerebral cortex, neurons are generated directly from radial glial cells or indirectly via basal progenitors. The balance between these division modes determines the number and types of neurons formed in the cortex thereby affecting cortical functioning. Here, we investigate the role of primary cilia in this process. We show that a mutation in the ciliary gene leads to a transient increase in direct neurogenesis and subsequently to an overproduction of layer V neurons in newborn mice. Loss of also affects ciliary structure coinciding with increased Akt and mTOR signalling and reduced Gli3 repressor levels. Genetically re-storing Gli3 repressor rescues the decreased indirect neurogenesis in mutants. Overall, our analyses reveal how primary cilia determine neuronal subtype composition of the cortex by controlling direct vs indirect neurogenesis. These findings have implications for understanding cortical malformations in ciliopathies with mutations.