Single-Cell RNA Sequencing of Arabidopsis Leaf Tissues Identifies Multiple Specialized Cell Types: Idioblast Myrosin Cells and Potential Glucosinolate-Producing Cells

• Published in: Plant and cell physiology Vol. 64; no. 2; pp. 234 - 247
• Main Authors: Maeda, Taro, Sugano, Shigeo S, Shirakawa, Makoto, Sagara, Mayu, Ito, Toshiro, Kondo, Satoshi, Nagano, Atsushi J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan 01.03.2023
• Subjects: Arabidopsis - genetics; Glucosinolates - metabolism; Glucuronidase - metabolism; Glycoside Hydrolases - metabolism; Plant Leaves - metabolism; Plants - metabolism; Sequence Analysis, RNA; Myrosin cell; Glucosinolate–myrosinase complexes; scRNA-Seq; Arabidopsis; S-cell; WRKY23
• ISSN: 0032-0781; 1471-9053
• DOI: 10.1093/pcp/pcac167

The glucosinolate-myrosinase defense system (GMDS), characteristic of Brassicales, is involved in plant defense. Previous single-cell transcriptomic analyses have reported the expression profiles of multiple GMDS-related cell types (i.e. myrosinase-rich myrosin idioblasts and multiple types of potential glucosinolate synthetic cells as well as a candidate S-cell for glucosinolate accumulation). However, differences in plant stages and cell-type annotation methods have hindered comparisons among studies. Here, we used the single-cell transcriptome profiles of extended Arabidopsis leaves and verified the distribution of previously used markers to refine the expression profiles of GMDS-associated cell types. Moreover, we performed beta-glucuronidase promoter assays to confirm the histological expression patterns of newly obtained markers for GMDS-associated candidates. As a result, we found a set of new specific reporters for myrosin cells and potential glucosinolate-producing cells.