State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory for Bamboo Germplasm Resources and Utilization, Forestry College, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, China.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2022 Sep 23;50(17):9724-9737. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkac773.
Development of floral organs exhibits complex molecular mechanisms involving the co-regulation of many genes specialized and precisely functioning in various tissues and developing stages. Advance in spatial transcriptome technologies allows for quantitative measurement of spatially localized gene abundance making it possible to bridge complex scenario of flower organogenesis with genome-wide molecular phenotypes. Here, we apply the 10× Visium technology in the study of the formation of floral organs through development in an orchid plant, Phalaenopsis Big Chili. Cell-types of early floral development including inflorescence meristems, primordia of floral organs and identity determined tissues, are recognized based on spatial expression distribution of thousands of genes in high resolution. In addition, meristematic cells on the basal position of floral organs are found to continuously function in multiple developmental stages after organ initiation. Particularly, the development of anther, which primordium starts from a single spot to multiple differentiated cell-types in later stages including pollinium and other vegetative tissues, is revealed by well-known MADS-box genes and many other downstream regulators. The spatial transcriptome analyses provide comprehensive information of gene activity for understanding the molecular architecture of flower organogenesis and for future genomic and genetic studies of specific cell-types.
花器官的发育表现出复杂的分子机制，涉及许多专门在不同组织和发育阶段精确发挥作用的基因的共同调控。空间转录组技术的进步允许对空间定位基因丰度进行定量测量，从而有可能将花器官发生的复杂情况与全基因组分子表型联系起来。在这里，我们通过兰花植物蝴蝶兰的发育研究，应用 10×Visium 技术来研究花器官的形成。基于数千个基因在高分辨率下的空间表达分布，识别早期花发育的细胞类型，包括花序分生组织、花器官原基和确定的组织。此外，在器官起始后，在花器官基部位置的分生细胞被发现持续在多个发育阶段发挥作用。特别是，通过众所周知的 MADS-box 基因和许多其他下游调控因子，揭示了从单个点开始发育到后期具有多个分化细胞类型的花药（花粉粒）和其他营养组织的原基的发育过程。空间转录组分析为理解花器官发生的分子结构以及特定细胞类型的未来基因组和遗传研究提供了基因活性的综合信息。
