From xylem atlases to developmental continuity in forestry.

Integrating single-cell, single-nucleus, and spatial transcriptomics in poplar xylem recovers developmental continuity beyond cell states alone, enabling explanatory woody developmental atlases.

• Why it matters: Cell states by themselves often fail to resolve continuous developmental trajectories in woody tissues, limiting how well atlases explain development.
• What they did: Wei et al. combined single-cell, single-nucleus, and spatial transcriptomics in poplar xylem and interpreted the resulting cell-resolved atlas in anatomical context, with experimental validation.
• The result: The approach links atlas structure to developmental continuity in poplar xylem, supporting a forestry principle: anatomical interpretation plus validation makes cell-resolved atlases explanatory.

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