Spatial transcriptome analysis of pinctada fucata

Gene expression analysis has been conducted in the mantle tissue of the pearl oyster using site-specific RNA-Seq and In Situ Hybridization, but the following technical issues exist. First, the distinction between the nacreous layer forming region and the ridge column layer forming region has not been strictly clarified, so the site-specific RNA-Seq data contains data derived from cells in both regions. Second, site-specific RNA-Seq data cannot distinguish the site of nacre formation based on gene expression. Finally, in situ hybridization technology cannot search for novel genes. Due to these technical challenges, the diversity and distribution of each cell population in the nacreous and prismatic formation sites are not clear. In this study, we analyzed spatial gene expression in the mantle of the pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata, using Visium, a platform for spatial transcriptomics, in order to obtain high-resolution and comprehensive spatial gene expression information to solve the above technical problems and to clarify the diversity and distribution of each cell group in the nacreous layer formation site and the ridge column formation site.