Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics in Phragmites australis reveal the association of B chromosomes with plant invasiveness

作者：Cui Wang, James Ord, Mengxiao Yan, Yunfei Cai, Hongjin Shao, Lele Lin, Jarkko Salojärvi, Lele Liu, Weihua Guo · 发表于：Genome biology · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1186/s13059-026-04079-x · 被引用次数：2 · 研究领域：Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics、Marine and coastal plant biology、Plant responses to water stress

BACKGROUND: Invasive plants pose a major threat to global biodiversity, yet the molecular and genomic mechanisms underlying their success remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate the invasion of the common reed Phragmites australis, a grass species that became invasive in North America after its introduction from Europe, to elucidate the molecular mechanisms potentially underlying its invasion process. RESULTS: By integrating single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, and comparative genomics, we construct a single-cell atlas of Phragmites australis, and identify 19 transcriptionally distinct cell types, including meristematic cells, parenchyma, mesophyll, epidermal, and vascular tissues. Comparative analysis of common garden-grown native populations from Europe and invasive populations from North America reveals a significant proportion of differentially expressed genes located on B chromosomes, which show copy number expansion in invasive genomes. Four B-chromosome genes, PaChr24B.43 (IMP-α3), PaChr24B.82 (GATA2), PaChr24B.218 (SCC3), and PaChr24B.240 (SCC3), are consistently differentially expressed between invasive and noninvasive populations across nearly all cell types. At the tissue level, mesophyll, parenchyma, vascular, and epidermal cells in the invasive population all exhibit increased gene expression in response to sugar starvation and light deprivation. Epidermal cells also show strong activated gene expression in response to hypoxia but suppresse...