Leaves in Transition: Single nuclei RNA sequencing provides insights into sorghums juvenile and adult phases
Adaramodu, O. M.; Rosario, J. G.; Nordgren, E. C.; Paul, M.; Bhat, S. S.; Nguyen, H.; Ashraf, A.; Kim, J.; Helliker, B.; Gregory, B. D.
Crop Improvement
Sorghum grain feeds hundreds of millions of people in Africa and Asia, and understanding exactly when its leaves 'grow up' could help breeders develop crops that handle drought and pests better from an earlier age.
Researchers took a close look at sorghum leaves at two different growth stages—young and mature—and mapped which genes were switched on in individual cells. They found that tiny hair-like structures on the leaves, previously thought to appear only in mature plants, are actually present much earlier. They also discovered that these leaf hairs seem to play a double role: helping the plant defend itself with a natural toxin while also managing water.
Key Findings
Trichomes (leaf hairs) are present in both juvenile and adult sorghum leaves, contradicting the long-held model that they appear only in adult leaves.
Bulliform cells, previously considered adult-specific structures that help leaves roll during drought, were also found in juvenile leaves.
Cell gene expression clusters more strongly by developmental stage (young vs. mature) than by cell type, showing that a leaf's age is the dominant driver of its molecular identity.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists used advanced single-cell gene mapping to discover that sorghum plants develop key adult leaf structures—like trichomes (tiny leaf hairs) and bulliform cells—much earlier than textbooks suggest, and found that a plant's developmental age dominates how its genes behave more than cell type does.
Abstract Preview
The transition from juvenile to adult phase (JA) is a key developmental process in plants, driven by conserved pathways that shape growth and stress responses. In monocots such as sorghum, this tra...
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