Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Efficiently Predicts Transcription Factor Targets in Plants.

Discovering transcription factor (TF) targets is necessary for the study of regulatory pathways, but it is hampered in plants by the lack of highly efficient predictive technology. This study is the first to establish a simple system for predicting TF targets in rice () leaf cells based on 10 × Genomics' single-cell RNA sequencing method. We effectively utilized the transient expression system to create the differential expression of a TF (OsNAC78) in each cell and sequenced all single cell transcriptomes.

OsGL6, a conserved AP2 domain protein, promotes leaf trichome initiation in rice.

Trichomes are specialized epidermal cells that play crucial roles in resisting environmental stress and enhancing plant development. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the main genes controlling trichome formation have been consecutively identified. However, few genes like this were reported in rice.