Single-cell landscape of long and short glandular trichomes in Nicotiana tabacum leaves

Abstract

Summary: Glandular trichomes (GTs) play a crucial role in plant defenses and the synthesis of secondary metabolites. Understanding the developmental trajectory of GTs is essential for unraveling their functional significance and potential applications. Here we established a comprehensive single-cell atlas of Nicotiana tabacum leaves, a model plant for GT studies. The atlas included a total of 40,433 cells and successfully captured both long GTs (LGTs) and short GTs (SGTs) from Nicotiana leaves. The developmental trajectories of these trichomes were delineated, revealing potential disparities in epidermal development. Comparative analysis of Arabidopsis and Nicotiana trichome development indicated limited similarity between Arabidopsis epidermal non-glandular trichomes and Nicotiana LGTs and SGTs, implying the essentiality of studying the genes directly involved in the development of Nicotiana GTs for a proper and comprehensive understanding of GT biology. Overall, our results provide profound insights into the developmental intricacies of the specialized GTs.

Keywords

• Plant biology
• Plant development
• Transcriptomics;