2026 PSM/HRT Fall Seminar Series presents: Matt Stata MSU
September 30, 2026 12:00PM - 1:00PM
For ZOOM info contact Tayla Esquivel
Abstract:
Single-nucleus transcriptomics of sorghum leaves reveals layers of transcriptional responses to drought
Drought responses in leaves must coordinate stress protection across specialized cell types while preserving the cellular functions that support photosynthesis and water use. We used single-nucleus RNA sequencing to resolve drought-responsive transcription across the mature leaf of Sorghum bicolor. A curated atlas of more than 55,000 nuclei captured major photosynthetic, epidermal, and vascular cell populations together with drought-associated cellular states. A hierarchical analysis of cell-type-resolved expression showed that the dominant transcriptional response to sustained water limitation was broadly shared across cell types, while a smaller fraction of genes showed cell-type-dependent departures from that common response. Most of these localized differences were restricted to one or two cell types, indicating that cellular specialization generally modifies a common drought program rather than replacing it. Neighborhood-level differential-abundance analysis further identified drought-enriched transcriptional states within subpopulations of mesophyll and bundle-sheath cell types, characterized by coordinated enhancement of hormone and stress signaling, redox regulation, defense-associated processes, and osmoprotective metabolism. Regulatory-network analysis identified candidate transcriptional programs associated with the shared, cell-type-dependent, and cell-state-associated components of drought response. Together, these results support a hierarchical model in which a broadly shared drought response is overlaid by cell-type-dependent and finer cellular-state-dependent responses, providing a framework for understanding drought adaptation in a C4 cereal crop.
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