Spatial Transcriptomic Analyses of Spermatogenesis

Area of Science:

• Molecular Biology
• Genomics
• Developmental Biology

Background:

• Traditional transcriptomics is destructive and lacks spatial context.
• Spatial transcriptomics preserves tissue architecture for cellular heterogeneity analysis.
• Spermatogenesis exhibits spatial variation crucial for interpreting gene expression data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of spatial transcriptome technologies.
• To offer guidelines for applying Seeker (SlideSeq V2) spatial transcriptomics to the testis.
• To demonstrate bioinformatic analysis of spatial transcriptomic data in mouse testes.

Main Methods:

• Overview of spatial transcriptome technologies.
• Detailed protocol for Seeker (SlideSeq V2) application on testicular tissue.
• Bioinformatic analysis pipeline for spatial gene expression data.

Main Results:

• Demonstration of spatial gene expression analysis in mouse testes.
• Identification of spatial patterns related to spermatogenesis stages.
• Exemplary analysis of round spermatids using spatial transcriptomics.

Conclusions:

• Spatial transcriptomics is essential for understanding spatially organized biological processes like spermatogenesis.
• Seeker (SlideSeq V2) provides a powerful tool for high-resolution spatial gene expression analysis in the testis.
• Integrating spatial context is critical for interpreting complex transcriptomic datasets.