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Lu C, Wei Y, Abbas M, Agula H, Wang E, Meng Z, Zhang R. Application of Single-Cell Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin with High Throughput Sequencing in Plant Science: Advances, Technical Challenges, and Prospects. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1479. [PMID: 38338756 PMCID: PMC10855595 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The Single-cell Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin with high throughput sequencing (scATAC-seq) has gained increasing popularity in recent years, allowing for chromatin accessibility to be deciphered and gene regulatory networks (GRNs) to be inferred at single-cell resolution. This cutting-edge technology now enables the genome-wide profiling of chromatin accessibility at the cellular level and the capturing of cell-type-specific cis-regulatory elements (CREs) that are masked by cellular heterogeneity in bulk assays. Additionally, it can also facilitate the identification of rare and new cell types based on differences in chromatin accessibility and the charting of cellular developmental trajectories within lineage-related cell clusters. Due to technical challenges and limitations, the data generated from scATAC-seq exhibit unique features, often characterized by high sparsity and noise, even within the same cell type. To address these challenges, various bioinformatic tools have been developed. Furthermore, the application of scATAC-seq in plant science is still in its infancy, with most research focusing on root tissues and model plant species. In this review, we provide an overview of recent progress in scATAC-seq and its application across various fields. We first conduct scATAC-seq in plant science. Next, we highlight the current challenges of scATAC-seq in plant science and major strategies for cell type annotation. Finally, we outline several future directions to exploit scATAC-seq technologies to address critical challenges in plant science, ranging from plant ENCODE(The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements) project construction to GRN inference, to deepen our understanding of the roles of CREs in plant biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Lu
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China; (C.L.); (Y.W.)
- Key Laboratory of Herbage & Endemic Crop Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010070, China
| | - Yunxiao Wei
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China; (C.L.); (Y.W.)
| | - Mubashir Abbas
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China; (C.L.); (Y.W.)
| | - Hasi Agula
- Key Laboratory of Herbage & Endemic Crop Biology, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot 010070, China
| | - Edwin Wang
- Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 4N1, Canada
| | - Zhigang Meng
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China; (C.L.); (Y.W.)
| | - Rui Zhang
- Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China; (C.L.); (Y.W.)
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Tang K, Li L, Zhang B, Zhang W, Zeng N, Zhang H, Liu D, Luo Z. Gene co-expression network analysis identifies hub genes associated with different tolerance under calcium deficiency in two peanut cultivars. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:421. [PMID: 37501179 PMCID: PMC10373417 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09436-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Peanut is an economically-important oilseed crop and needs a large amount of calcium for its normal growth and development. Calcium deficiency usually leads to embryo abortion and subsequent abnormal pod development. Different tolerance to calcium deficiency has been observed between different cultivars, especially between large and small-seed cultivars. RESULTS In order to figure out different molecular mechanisms in defensive responses between two cultivars, we treated a sensitive (large-seed) and a tolerant (small-seed) cultivar with different calcium levels. The transcriptome analysis identified a total of 58 and 61 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) within small-seed and large-seed peanut groups under different calcium treatments, and these DEGs were entirely covered by gene modules obtained via weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the blue-module genes in the large-seed cultivar were mainly enriched in plant-pathogen attack, phenolic metabolism and MAPK signaling pathway, while the green-module genes in the small-seed cultivar were mainly enriched in lipid metabolism including glycerolipid and glycerophospholipid metabolisms. By integrating DEGs with WGCNA, a total of eight hub-DEGs were finally identified, suggesting that the large-seed cultivar concentrated more on plant defensive responses and antioxidant activities under calcium deficiency, while the small-seed cultivar mainly focused on maintaining membrane features to enable normal photosynthesis and signal transduction. CONCLUSION The identified hub genes might give a clue for future gene validation and molecular breeding to improve peanut survivability under calcium deficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kang Tang
- College of Agriculture, Hunan Agricultural University, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Lin Li
- College of Agriculture, Hunan Agricultural University, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
- Arid Land Crop Research Institute, Hunan Agricultural University, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
- Hunan Peanut Engineering & Technology Research Center, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Bowen Zhang
- College of Agriculture, Hunan Agricultural University, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, No.1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Ningbo Zeng
- College of Agriculture, Hunan Agricultural University, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
- Arid Land Crop Research Institute, Hunan Agricultural University, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
- Hunan Peanut Engineering & Technology Research Center, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China
| | - Hao Zhang
- College of Agriculture, Hunan Agricultural University, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China.
- Arid Land Crop Research Institute, Hunan Agricultural University, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China.
- Hunan Peanut Engineering & Technology Research Center, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China.
| | - Dengwang Liu
- College of Agriculture, Hunan Agricultural University, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China.
- Arid Land Crop Research Institute, Hunan Agricultural University, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China.
- Hunan Peanut Engineering & Technology Research Center, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China.
| | - Zinan Luo
- College of Agriculture, Hunan Agricultural University, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China.
- Arid Land Crop Research Institute, Hunan Agricultural University, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China.
- Hunan Peanut Engineering & Technology Research Center, No. 1 Nongda Road, Changsha, 410128, Hunan, China.
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Verbon EH, Liberman LM, Zhou J, Yin J, Pieterse CMJ, Benfey PN, Stringlis IA, de Jonge R. Cell-type-specific transcriptomics reveals that root hairs and endodermal barriers play important roles in beneficial plant-rhizobacterium interactions. MOLECULAR PLANT 2023; 16:1160-1177. [PMID: 37282370 PMCID: PMC10527033 DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2023.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Growth- and health-promoting bacteria can boost crop productivity in a sustainable way. Pseudomonas simiae WCS417 is such a bacterium that efficiently colonizes roots, modifies the architecture of the root system to increase its size, and induces systemic resistance to make plants more resistant to pests and pathogens. Our previous work suggested that WCS417-induced phenotypes are controlled by root cell-type-specific mechanisms. However, it remains unclear how WCS417 affects these mechanisms. In this study, we transcriptionally profiled five Arabidopsis thaliana root cell types following WCS417 colonization. We found that the cortex and endodermis have the most differentially expressed genes, even though they are not in direct contact with this epiphytic bacterium. Many of these genes are associated with reduced cell wall biogenesis, and mutant analysis suggests that this downregulation facilitates WCS417-driven root architectural changes. Furthermore, we observed elevated expression of suberin biosynthesis genes and increased deposition of suberin in the endodermis of WCS417-colonized roots. Using an endodermal barrier mutant, we showed the importance of endodermal barrier integrity for optimal plant-beneficial bacterium association. Comparison of the transcriptome profiles in the two epidermal cell types that are in direct contact with WCS417-trichoblasts that form root hairs and atrichoblasts that do not-implies a difference in potential for defense gene activation. While both cell types respond to WCS417, trichoblasts displayed both higher basal and WCS417-dependent activation of defense-related genes compared with atrichoblasts. This suggests that root hairs may activate root immunity, a hypothesis that is supported by differential immune responses in root hair mutants. Taken together, these results highlight the strength of cell-type-specific transcriptional profiling to uncover "masked" biological mechanisms underlying beneficial plant-microbe associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eline H Verbon
- Plant-Microbe Interactions, Department of Biology, Science4Life, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 800.56, 3508 TB Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Louisa M Liberman
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA; Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Jiayu Zhou
- Plant-Microbe Interactions, Department of Biology, Science4Life, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 800.56, 3508 TB Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Jie Yin
- Plant-Microbe Interactions, Department of Biology, Science4Life, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 800.56, 3508 TB Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Corné M J Pieterse
- Plant-Microbe Interactions, Department of Biology, Science4Life, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 800.56, 3508 TB Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Philip N Benfey
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA; Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Ioannis A Stringlis
- Plant-Microbe Interactions, Department of Biology, Science4Life, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 800.56, 3508 TB Utrecht, the Netherlands; Laboratory of Plant Pathology, Agricultural University of Athens, 75 Iera Odos str., 11855 Athens, Greece.
| | - Ronnie de Jonge
- Plant-Microbe Interactions, Department of Biology, Science4Life, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 800.56, 3508 TB Utrecht, the Netherlands.
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Heeney M, Frank MH. The mRNA mobileome: challenges and opportunities for deciphering signals from the noise. THE PLANT CELL 2023; 35:1817-1833. [PMID: 36881847 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Organismal communication entails encoding a message that is sent over space or time to a recipient cell, where that message is decoded to activate a downstream response. Defining what qualifies as a functional signal is essential for understanding intercellular communication. In this review, we delve into what is known and unknown in the field of long-distance messenger RNA (mRNA) movement and draw inspiration from the field of information theory to provide a perspective on what defines a functional signaling molecule. Although numerous studies support the long-distance movement of hundreds to thousands of mRNAs through the plant vascular system, only a small handful of these transcripts have been associated with signaling functions. Deciphering whether mobile mRNAs generally serve a role in plant communication has been challenging, due to our current lack of understanding regarding the factors that influence mRNA mobility. Further insight into unsolved questions regarding the nature of mobile mRNAs could provide an understanding of the signaling potential of these macromolecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Heeney
- Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, 14853 Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Margaret H Frank
- Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, 14853 Ithaca, NY, USA
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