Single-cell RNA-seq is a tool that generates a high resolution of transcriptional data that can be used to understand regulatory networks in biological systems. In plants, several methods have been established for transcriptional analysis in tissue sections, cell types, and/or single cells. These methods typically require cell sorting, transgenic plants, protoplasting, or other damaging or laborious processes. Additionally, the majority of these technologies lose most or all spatial resolution during implementation. Those that offer a high spatial resolution for RNA lack breadth in the number of transcripts characterized. Here, we briefly review the evolution of spatial transcriptomics methods and we highlight recent advances and current challenges in sequencing, imaging, and computational aspects toward achieving 3D spatial transcriptomics of plant tissues with a resolution approaching single cells. We also provide a perspective on the potential opportunities to advance this novel methodology in plants.
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May 2021
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In recent years, an array of emerging technologies are propelling plant science in new directions and allowing for the integration of data across multiple scales. This special issue on Emerging Topics in Plant Science brings together reviews that spotlight a range of technologies that are changing how we ask questions and integrate those questions from the macromolecular to ecosystem scales.
Review Article|
February 01 2021
Space: the final frontier — achieving single-cell, spatially resolved transcriptomics in plants
Sai Guna Ranjan Gurazada
;
Sai Guna Ranjan Gurazada
*
1Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO 63132, U.S.A.
2Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19711, U.S.A.
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Kevin L. Cox, Jr
;
Kevin L. Cox, Jr
*
1Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO 63132, U.S.A.
3Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, U.S.A.
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Kirk J. Czymmek
;
Kirk J. Czymmek
1Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO 63132, U.S.A.
4Advanced Bioimaging Laboratory, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO 63132, U.S.A.
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Blake C. Meyers
1Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO 63132, U.S.A.
5Division of Plant Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201, U.S.A.
Correspondence: Blake C. Meyers ([email protected])
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
November 15 2020
Revision Received:
January 05 2021
Accepted:
January 11 2021
Online ISSN: 2397-8562
Print ISSN: 2397-8554
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society and the Royal Society of Biology
2021
Emerg Top Life Sci (2021) 5 (2): 179–188.
Article history
Received:
November 15 2020
Revision Received:
January 05 2021
Accepted:
January 11 2021
Citation
Joseph M. Jez, Christopher N. Topp, Sai Guna Ranjan Gurazada, Kevin L. Cox, Kirk J. Czymmek, Blake C. Meyers; Space: the final frontier — achieving single-cell, spatially resolved transcriptomics in plants. Emerg Top Life Sci 21 May 2021; 5 (2): 179–188. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/ETLS20200274
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