Large-scale single-cell profiling of stem cells uncovers redundant regulators of shoot development and yield trait variation
Authors: Xu, X., Passalacqua, M., Rice, B., Demesa-Arevalo, E., Kojima, M., Takebayashi, Y., Harris, B., Sakakibara, H., Gallavotti, A., Gillis, J., Jackson, D.
The study finely dissected shoot stem cell–enriched tissues from maize and Arabidopsis thaliana and optimized single‑cell RNA‑seq protocols to reliably capture CLAVATA3 and WUSCHEL‑expressing cells. Cross‑species comparison and functional validation, including spatial transcriptomics and mutant analyses, revealed conserved ribosome‑associated RNA‑binding proteins and sugar‑kinase families as key regulators linked to shoot development and yield traits.