A single-cell and spatial wheat root atlas with cross-species annotations delineates conserved tissue-specific marker genes and regulators

Summary: Despite the broad use of single-cell/nucleus RNA sequencing in plant research, accurate cluster annotation in less-studied plant species remains a major challenge due to the lack of validated marker genes. Here, we generated a single-cell RNA sequencing atlas of soil-grown wheat roots and a...

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Main Authors: Yuji Ke, Vincent Pujol, Jasper Staut, Lotte Pollaris, Ruth Seurinck, Thomas Eekhout, Carolin Grones, Maite Saura-Sanchez, Michiel Van Bel, Marnik Vuylsteke, Andrea Ariani, Christophe Liseron-Monfils, Klaas Vandepoele, Yvan Saeys, Bert De Rybel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-02-01
Series:Cell Reports
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124725000117
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Summary:Summary: Despite the broad use of single-cell/nucleus RNA sequencing in plant research, accurate cluster annotation in less-studied plant species remains a major challenge due to the lack of validated marker genes. Here, we generated a single-cell RNA sequencing atlas of soil-grown wheat roots and annotated cluster identities by transferring annotations from publicly available datasets in wheat, rice, maize, and Arabidopsis. The predictions from our orthology-based annotation approach were next validated using untargeted spatial transcriptomics. These results allowed us to predict evolutionarily conserved tissue-specific markers and generate cell type-specific gene regulatory networks for root tissues of wheat and the other species used in our analysis. In summary, we generated a single-cell and spatial transcriptomics resource for wheat root apical meristems, including numerous known and uncharacterized cell type-specific marker genes and developmental regulators. These data and analyses will facilitate future cell type annotation in non-model plant species.
ISSN:2211-1247