Fig. 4: Using single-cell methods in bioproducts and biomaterials applications.
From: Plant single-cell solutions for energy and the environment
Top panel: single-cell resolution data can be used to find genes in biosynthesis pathways by identifying co-expressed genes in individual cells or cell types. Middle panel: single-cell expression data can identify cell-specific and condition-specific building blocks, as genes that co-vary across clusters of cells are likely regulated by common components (e.g., transcription factors). This can be exploited to identify promoters useful for bioengineering applications where production in a specific cell type is desired. Bottom panel: improvements to bioproduction targets in plant or algal systems could be achieved through correlating high-throughput phenotyping and single-cell resolution “omics” data. High-throughput analyses of mutant strains or libraries containing engineered biosynthetic clusters could be used to identify or verify which genes and pathways are necessary for the production of specific products and to optimize for higher production yield.
