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Single-cell analysis of cell identity in the Arabidopsis root apical meristem: insights and opportunities.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Shahan, R; Nolan, TM; Benfey, PN
Published in: Journal of experimental botany
October 2021

A fundamental question in developmental biology is how the progeny of stem cells become differentiated tissues. The Arabidopsis root is a tractable model to address this question due to its simple organization and defined cell lineages. In particular, the zone of dividing cells at the root tip-the root apical meristem-presents an opportunity to map the gene regulatory networks underlying stem cell niche maintenance, tissue patterning, and cell identity acquisition. To identify molecular regulators of these processes, studies over the last 20 years employed global profiling of gene expression patterns. However, these technologies are prone to information loss due to averaging gene expression signatures over multiple cell types and/or developmental stages. Recently developed high-throughput methods to profile gene expression at single-cell resolution have been successfully applied to plants. Here, we review insights from the first published single-cell mRNA sequencing and chromatin accessibility datasets generated from Arabidopsis roots. These studies successfully reconstruct developmental trajectories, phenotype cell identity mutants at unprecedented resolution, and reveal cell type-specific responses to environmental stimuli. The experimental insight gained from Arabidopsis paves the way to profile roots from additional species.

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Published In

Journal of experimental botany

DOI

EISSN

1460-2431

ISSN

0022-0957

Publication Date

October 2021

Volume

72

Issue

19

Start / End Page

6679 / 6686

Related Subject Headings

  • Single-Cell Analysis
  • Plant Roots
  • Plant Biology & Botany
  • Meristem
  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Arabidopsis
  • 3108 Plant biology
  • 3101 Biochemistry and cell biology
  • 3004 Crop and pasture production
  • 0703 Crop and Pasture Production
 

Citation

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Shahan, R., Nolan, T. M., & Benfey, P. N. (2021). Single-cell analysis of cell identity in the Arabidopsis root apical meristem: insights and opportunities. Journal of Experimental Botany, 72(19), 6679–6686. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erab228
Shahan, Rachel, Trevor M. Nolan, and Philip N. Benfey. “Single-cell analysis of cell identity in the Arabidopsis root apical meristem: insights and opportunities.Journal of Experimental Botany 72, no. 19 (October 2021): 6679–86. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erab228.
Shahan R, Nolan TM, Benfey PN. Single-cell analysis of cell identity in the Arabidopsis root apical meristem: insights and opportunities. Journal of experimental botany. 2021 Oct;72(19):6679–86.
Shahan, Rachel, et al. “Single-cell analysis of cell identity in the Arabidopsis root apical meristem: insights and opportunities.Journal of Experimental Botany, vol. 72, no. 19, Oct. 2021, pp. 6679–86. Epmc, doi:10.1093/jxb/erab228.
Shahan R, Nolan TM, Benfey PN. Single-cell analysis of cell identity in the Arabidopsis root apical meristem: insights and opportunities. Journal of experimental botany. 2021 Oct;72(19):6679–6686.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of experimental botany

DOI

EISSN

1460-2431

ISSN

0022-0957

Publication Date

October 2021

Volume

72

Issue

19

Start / End Page

6679 / 6686

Related Subject Headings

  • Single-Cell Analysis
  • Plant Roots
  • Plant Biology & Botany
  • Meristem
  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Arabidopsis
  • 3108 Plant biology
  • 3101 Biochemistry and cell biology
  • 3004 Crop and pasture production
  • 0703 Crop and Pasture Production