This review article discusses the rapidly evolving field of spatial transcriptomics (ST), which enables the quantification of RNA across the transcriptome within intact tissue sections, overcoming the historical trade-off between broad biomolecule measurement ('-omics') and targeted localization (e.g., immunostaining). The authors categorize ST into two main methodologies: sequencing-based ST (sST) and imaging-based ST (iST), detailing the technological advancements and workflows for each approach. The text highlights three key biological questions that ST technologies are best suited to address, including elucidating cell-type composition, investigating cellular interactions, and clarifying molecular signaling between tissue components. Furthermore, the article emphasizes the critical need for standardized tissues and quality control metrics to properly characterize and compare the performance of both sST and iST methods. Looking forward, the authors anticipate that ST will lead to a broader field of contextual genomics, integrating new modalities, improved resolution, and the observation of cellular dynamics to advance tissue biology and disease discovery.

References:

• Tian L, Chen F, Macosko E Z. The expanding vistas of spatial transcriptomics[J]. Nature Biotechnology, 2023, 41(6): 773-782.