The Single-cell Stereo-seq reveals region-specific cell subtypes and transcriptome profiling in Arabidopsis leaves

Understanding the complex functions of plant leaves requires a thorough characterization of discrete cell features. Although single-cell gene expression profiling technologies have been developed, their application in characterizing cell subtypes has not been achieved yet. Here, we present scStereo-seq (single-cell SpaTial Enhanced REsolution Omics-sequencing) that enabled us to firstly show the bona fide single-cell spatial transcriptome profiles of Arabidopsis leaves. Subtle but significant transcriptomic differences between upper and lower epidermal cells have been successfully distinguished. Furthermore, we discovered cell-type-specific gene expression gradients from the main vein to the leaf edge, which for the first time led to the finding of distinct spatial developmental trajectories of vascular cells and guard cells. Our study showcases the importance of physical locations of individual cells for exerting complex biologic functions in plants and demonstrates that scStereo-seq is a powerful tool to integrate single cell location and transcriptome information for plant biology study.