Spatiotemporal transcriptomics reveals key gene regulation for grain yield and quality in wheat

Cereal grain size and quality are important agronomic traits in crop production. The development of wheat grains is underpinned by complex regulatory networks. The precise spatial and temporal coordination of diverse cell types is essential for the formation of functional compartments. To provide comprehensive spatiotemporal information about biological processes in developing wheat grain, we performed a spatial transcriptomics study during the early grain development stage from 4 to 12 days after pollination. We identified tissue-specific marker genes and found that some genes and transcription factors showed specific spatial expression patterns over time. Through co-expression and motif analyses, we identified a specific group of genes potentially regulating wheat grain development, including the gene encoding transcription factor TaABI3-3B, which is specifically expressed in the embryo and embryo surrounding endosperm and negatively regulates embryo and grain size. Our work provides pivotal insights into yield improvement and for future wheat breeding