Subcellular level spatial transcriptomics with PHOTON.

Nature communications
Authors
Abstract

The subcellular localization of RNA is closely linked to its function. Many RNA species are partitioned into organelles and other subcellular compartments for storage, processing, translation, or degradation. Thus, capturing the subcellular spatial distribution of RNA would directly contribute to the understanding of RNA functions and regulation. Here, we present PHOTON, a method which combines high resolution imaging with high throughput sequencing to achieve spatial transcriptome profiling at subcellular resolution. We demonstrate PHOTON as a versatile tool to accurately capture the transcriptome of target cell types in situ at the tissue level such as granulosa cells in the ovary, as well as RNA content within subcellular compartments such as the nucleoli, the mitochondria, and the stress granules. Using PHOTON, we also reveal the functional role of mA modifications on mRNA partitioning into stress granules. These results collectively demonstrate that PHOTON is a flexible and generalizable platform for understanding subcellular molecular dynamics through the transcriptomic lens.

Year of Publication
2025
Journal
Nature communications
Volume
16
Issue
1
Pages
4457
Date Published
05/2025
ISSN
2041-1723
DOI
10.1038/s41467-025-59801-3
PubMed ID
40368943
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