Work

Gene expression variation in Arabidopsis embryos at single-nucleus resolution

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: Soon after fertilization of egg and sperm, plant genomes become transcriptionally activated and drive a series of coordinated cell divisions to form the basic body plan during embryogenesis. Early embryonic cells rapidly diversify from each other, and investigation of the corresponding gene expression dynamics can help elucidate underlying cellular differentiation programs. However, current plant embryonic transcriptome datasets either lack cell-specific information or have RNA contamination from surrounding non-embryonic tissues. We have coupled fluorescence-activated nuclei sorting together with single-nucleus mRNA-sequencing to construct a gene expression atlas of Arabidopsis thaliana early embryos at single-cell resolution. In addition to characterizing cell-specific transcriptomes, we found evidence that distinct epigenetic and transcriptional regulatory mechanisms operate across emerging embryonic cell types. These datasets and analyses, as well as the approach we devised, are expected to facilitate the discovery of molecular mechanisms underlying pattern formation in plant embryos. This article has an associated 'The people behind the papers' interview.

Source: Development

DOI: 10.1242/dev.199589

Authors: Ping Kao, Michael A. Schon, Magdalena Mosiolek, Balaji Enugutti, Michael D. Nodine

Institutions: Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna Biocenter, Wageningen University & Research

Language: English

Topic: Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Wageningen University and Research, Interreg

Award: G8034190245