8/10 For easy interaction with this data, we present www.wheat-spatial.com, an interactive web browser developed from the WebAtlas pipeline (www.nature.com/articles/s41...) with the help of Rob Ellis @johninnescentre.bsky.social. You can quickly scan expression of the 200 genes across four stages.

7/10 The gradients experienced by meristems and leaves comprise of different sets of genes, but cross at a mirrored position along the inflorescence, suggesting their precise coordination between two tissue types when patterning the apical-basal axis of the spike.

6/10 @katielong.bsky.social wanted to find novel factors that may pattern the lanceolate shape of wheat before it forms. We found that across the apical-basal axis of the wheat spike, distinct and spatially coordinated gene expression gradients pattern both meristem ridges (spikelet and leaf).

5/10 We were able to identify previously proposed gene expression gradients (doi.org/10.1093/plph...) that play a role in this. We identified patterns of VRT2 (green) and SEP (blue) expression, which we found to be spatially restricted and form opposing patterns along the apical-basal axis.

4/10 Following on from this, @katielong.bsky.social and colleagues @nikolaiadamski.bsky.social wanted to learn more about how the shape of the wheat spike is patterned. Why does the wheat spike form a lanceolate shape, where the most basal spikelets initiate first yet lag behind in development?

3/10 From there, we learned more about the tissue types in wheat and their enriched gene markers and how these connect and change over developmental time. Here AGL6 (pink) is first observed at lemma primordium stage and the clearly marks paleae and stamens at latest stages.

2/10 We used MERFISH @vizgen.bsky.social to spatially resolved gene expression data to learn about inflorescence development. @katielong.bsky.social first approached this by segmenting each cell and assigning it to a ‘domain’ based on the genes expressed.

1/10 We are thrilled to share our preprint on spatial transcriptomics in wheat spikes led by the amazing @katielong.bsky.social and Ashleigh Lister. We resolved expression of 200 genes to cellular resolution. Pre-print👉 tinyurl.com/c7t3kncf., @johninnescentre.bsky.social @earlhaminst.bsky.social