{"doi":"10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109915","title":"Dissecting mammalian spermatogenesis using spatial transcriptomics","abstract":"Single-cell RNA sequencing has revealed extensive molecular diversity in gene programs governing mammalian spermatogenesis but fails to delineate their dynamics in the native context of seminiferous tubules, the spatially confined functional units of spermatogenesis. Here, we use Slide-seq, a spatial transcriptomics technology, to generate an atlas that captures the spatial gene expression patterns at near-single-cell resolution in the mouse and human testis. Using Slide-seq data, we devise a computational framework that accurately localizes testicular cell types in individual seminiferous tubules. Unbiased analysis systematically identifies spatially patterned genes and gene programs. Combining Slide-seq with targeted in situ RNA sequencing, we demonstrate significant differences in the cellular compositions of spermatogonial microenvironment between mouse and human testes. Finally, a comparison of the spatial atlas generated from the wild-type and diabetic mouse testis reveals a disruption in the spatial cellular organization of seminiferous tubules as a potential mechanism of diabetes-induced male infertility.","journal":"Cell Reports","year":2021,"id":148242,"datarank":2.9926873637551332,"base_score":4.890349128221754,"endowment":4.890349128221754,"self_citation_contribution":0.7335523692332632,"citation_network_contribution":2.25913499452187,"self_endowment_contribution":0.7335523692332632,"citer_contribution":2.25913499452187,"corpus_percentile":92.6123617235244,"corpus_rank":956,"citation_count":132,"citer_count":100,"citers_with_citation_signal":95,"citers_with_endowment":95,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":true,"is_dataset_confidence":0.502,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2021-01-01","fair_score":66.6667,"fair_percentile":86.48731274839498,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":35220,"name":"Evan Murray","orcid":"0000-0002-9195-7478","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":56742,"name":"Anubhav Sinha","orcid":"0000-0002-1545-3163","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":630640,"name":"Anisha Laumas","orcid":"0000-0001-6140-4154","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":106181,"name":"Jilong Li","orcid":"0000-0002-0004-8464","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":630641,"name":"Daniel Lesman","orcid":"0000-0002-9982-7344","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":234641,"name":"Xichen Nie","orcid":null,"position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":631541,"name":"Jim Hotaling","orcid":null,"position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":233422,"name":"Jingtao Guo","orcid":"0000-0002-0159-5021","position":8,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":233430,"name":"Bradley R. Cairns","orcid":"0000-0002-9864-8811","position":9,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":3628,"name":"Evan Z. Macosko","orcid":"0000-0002-2794-5165","position":10,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":54419,"name":"C. Yan Cheng","orcid":"0000-0003-3117-3791","position":11,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":24055,"name":"Fei Chen","orcid":"0000-0003-2308-3649","position":12,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":630639,"name":"Haiqi Chen","orcid":"0000-0001-7179-3229","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":70,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-18T23:42:41.063423Z","pmid":"34731600","pmcid":"PMC8606188","fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":83.3333,"fair_a":62.5,"fair_i":20.0,"fair_r":41.6667,"fair_zscore":1.2752,"fair_rationale":{"fair_score":66.67,"has_llm":true,"taxonomy_version":"fair_taxonomy_v5","dimensions":{"F":{"name":"Findable","score":83.33,"criteria":[{"key":"f_dataset_pid","label":"Persistent identifier for the data","kind":"llm","weight":2.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"The raw sequencing data supporting the findings of this study are available in NCBI BioProject database with BioProject ID: PRJNA668433.","grounded":true,"rationale":"The paper gives a BioProject accession, which is a persistent identifier scheme.","anchors":["RDA-F1-01D — FAIR Data Maturity Model: 'Data is identified by a persistent identifier' (priorit","RDA-F1-02D — FAIR Data Maturity Model: 'Data is identified by a globally unique identifier'","FsF-F1-02D — F-UJI/FAIRsFAIR: 'Data is assigned a persistent identifier'"],"scored":true,"signal":null},{"key":"f_repository_named","label":"Named repository","kind":"llm","weight":2.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"The raw sequencing data supporting the findings of this study are available in NCBI BioProject database with BioProject ID: PRJNA668433.","grounded":true,"rationale":"The paper names NCBI BioProject, a recognized repository, as the holder of the raw data.","anchors":["RDA-F4-01M — FAIR Data Maturity Model: metadata is offered so it can be harvested and indexed (","NIH DMS Policy Element 4 (NOT-OD-21-014) — name the repository where data will be archived","NSTC Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories (2022) — 'Long-Term Sustainability', 'Reten"],"scored":true,"signal":null},{"key":"f_data_availability_statement","label":"Data-availability statement","kind":"llm","weight":2.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"The raw sequencing data supporting the findings of this study are available in NCBI BioProject database with BioProject ID: PRJNA668433.","grounded":true,"rationale":"The statement points to a repository record with an accession.","anchors":["Colavizza, Hrynaszkiewicz, Staden, Whitaker & McGillivray (2020), 'The citation advantage of li","Springer Nature research data policy — Data Availability Statements: standard statement templat","RDA-F3-01M — metadata clearly and explicitly includes the identifier of the data it describes"],"scored":false,"signal":null},{"key":"f_discovery_metadata","label":"Description of the dataset as an object","kind":"llm","weight":2.0,"fraction":0.5,"verdict":"partial","evidence":"The processed data including the gene expression matrices, bead location matrices, and the NMFreg-enabled cell type assignment matrices are available at https://www.dropbox.com/s/ygzpj0d0oh67br0/Testis_Slideseq_Data.zip?dl=0 .","grounded":true,"rationale":"The dataset's content is described in running prose, not an itemized inventory. [majority verdict 'partial' (3/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["RDA-F2-01M — 'Rich metadata is provided to allow discovery' (priority Essential)","FsF-F2-01M — F-UJI: 'Metadata includes descriptive core elements to support data findability'","FsF-R1-01MD — F-UJI: 'Metadata specifies the content of the data'"],"scored":false,"signal":null},{"key":"f_dataset_cited","label":"Dataset formally cited","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":0.5,"verdict":"partial","evidence":"The raw sequencing data supporting the findings of this study are available in NCBI BioProject database with BioProject ID: PRJNA668433.","grounded":true,"rationale":"The dataset identifier appears only in the body text, not in the reference list.","anchors":["FORCE11 Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles (2014) — data should be cited as a first-","RDA-F3-01M — metadata clearly and explicitly includes the identifier of the data it describes","FsF-F3-01M — F-UJI: 'Metadata includes the identifier of the data it describes'"],"scored":true,"signal":null}]},"A":{"name":"Accessible","score":62.5,"criteria":[{"key":"a_data_openly_accessible","label":"Access route free of preconditions","kind":"llm","weight":2.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"The raw sequencing data supporting the findings of this study are available in NCBI BioProject database with BioProject ID: PRJNA668433.","grounded":true,"rationale":"The data are stated to be available in a public repository with no precondition.","anchors":["RDA-A1.1-01D — 'Data is accessible through a free access protocol'","FsF-A1-01M — F-UJI: 'Metadata contains access level and access conditions of the data'","NSTC Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories (2022) — 'Free and Easy Access'"],"scored":true,"signal":null},{"key":"a_access_conditions_stated","label":"Access level labelled","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":0.5,"verdict":"partial","evidence":"The raw sequencing data supporting the findings of this study are available in NCBI BioProject database with BioProject ID: PRJNA668433.","grounded":true,"rationale":"The paper describes that the data are available in a public repository, but does not apply an explicit access-level label such as 'open access' or 'freely available' to the data itself. [majority verdict 'partial' (4/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["FsF-A1-01M — F-UJI: 'Metadata contains access level and access conditions of the data'","RDA-A1-01M — metadata contains information to enable the user to get access to the data","COAR Controlled Vocabularies — Access Rights v1.0 (open / embargoed / restricted / metadata-onl"],"scored":false,"signal":null},{"key":"a_controlled_access_for_sensitive","label":"Gatekeeper for sensitive data","kind":"llm","weight":0.5,"fraction":0.0,"verdict":"no","evidence":null,"grounded":false,"rationale":"The data are deposited in a public repository with no stated gatekeeper.","anchors":["NIH Genomic Data Sharing Policy (NOT-OD-14-124) — controlled-access via a Data Access Committee","RDA-A1.2-01D — 'Data is accessible through an access protocol that supports authentication and ","NIH DMS Policy Element 5 (NOT-OD-21-014) — Access, Distribution, or Reuse Considerations (conse"],"scored":false,"signal":null},{"key":"a_timeline_retention","label":"Availability timing & retention","kind":"llm","weight":0.5,"fraction":0.0,"verdict":"no","evidence":null,"grounded":false,"rationale":"No sentence states when the data become available or how long they persist. [majority verdict 'no' (3/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["NIH DMS Plan Element 4 (NOT-OD-21-014) — Data Preservation, Access, and Associated Timelines","NSTC Desirable Characteristics (2022), Organizational Infrastructure: 'Retention Policy'","RDA-A2-01M — 'Metadata is guaranteed to remain available after data is no longer available'"],"scored":false,"signal":null}]},"I":{"name":"Interoperable","score":20.0,"criteria":[{"key":"i_open_nonproprietary_format","label":"Open file format","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":0.0,"verdict":"no","evidence":null,"grounded":false,"rationale":"No file format is named for the released data.","anchors":["FsF-R1.3-02D — F-UJI: 'Data is available in a file format recommended by the target research co","RDA-R1.3-02D — data is expressed in a machine-understandable community standard","RDA-I1-01D — data uses a knowledge representation expressed in a standardised format"],"scored":true,"signal":null},{"key":"i_community_standard_vocabulary","label":"Community standard / vocabulary","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":0.0,"verdict":"no","evidence":null,"grounded":false,"rationale":"No data or metadata community standard is named as applied to the data.","anchors":["RDA-R1.3-01M — 'Metadata complies with a community standard' (priority Essential)","RDA-R1.3-01D — 'Data complies with a community standard'","RDA-I2-01M — '(Meta)data use vocabularies that follow FAIR principles'"],"scored":false,"signal":null},{"key":"i_qualified_references","label":"Identifiers for the resources the data depend on","kind":"llm","weight":0.5,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"https://www.proteinatlas.org/","grounded":true,"rationale":"The paper provides a URL to the Human Protein Atlas, an external resource used for validation, which is a repository URL identifier. [majority verdict 'yes' (3/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["RDA-I3-01M — '(meta)data include references to other (meta)data'","RDA-I3-03M — 'metadata includes qualified references to other metadata'","FsF-I3-01M — F-UJI: 'Metadata includes links between the data and its related entities'"],"scored":false,"signal":null}]},"R":{"name":"Reusable","score":41.67,"criteria":[{"key":"r_reuse_license","label":"Reuse licence","kind":"llm","weight":2.0,"fraction":0.0,"verdict":"no","evidence":null,"grounded":false,"rationale":"No license is stated for the data; the article's CC BY-NC-ND license applies only to the paper.","anchors":["RDA-R1.1-01M — 'Metadata includes information about the licence under which the data can be reu","RDA-R1.1-02M — 'Metadata refers to a standard reuse licence'","RDA-R1.1-03M — 'Metadata refers to a machine-understandable reuse licence'"],"scored":true,"signal":null},{"key":"r_provenance_methods","label":"Provenance of the data","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"Samples were sequenced on the Illumina NovaSeq S2 flow cell 100 cycle kit with 12 samples per run (6 samples per lane) with the read structure 42 bases Read 1, 8 bases i7 index read, 50 bases Read 2.","grounded":true,"rationale":"The paper names specific instruments and software used to produce the data.","anchors":["RDA-R1.2-01M — 'Metadata includes provenance information according to community- specific standa","FsF-R1.2-01M — F-UJI: 'Metadata includes provenance information about data creation or generati","W3C PROV-O (W3C Recommendation, 2013) — the entity/activity/agent model of provenance"],"scored":false,"signal":null},{"key":"r_documentation_codebook","label":"Documentation / codebook","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":0.0,"verdict":"no","evidence":null,"grounded":false,"rationale":"No documentation object (README, codebook, etc.) is mentioned as accompanying the data.","anchors":["RDA-R1-01M — '(Meta)data are richly described with a plurality of accurate and relevant attribu","FsF-R1-01MD — F-UJI: 'Metadata specifies the content of the data'","NIH DMS Policy Element 3 (NOT-OD-21-014) — Standards (documentation and metadata to accompany t"],"scored":false,"signal":null},{"key":"r_versioning","label":"Snapshot identified","kind":"llm","weight":0.5,"fraction":0.0,"verdict":"no","evidence":null,"grounded":false,"rationale":"No version token or date is given to identify a specific snapshot of the data.","anchors":["DataCite Metadata Schema 4.6 — the 'Version' property","RDA-R1.2-01M — provenance information (which version was used is provenance)","NSTC Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories (2022) — 'Provenance', 'Retention Policy'"],"scored":true,"signal":null},{"key":"x_code_availability","label":"Analysis code available","kind":"llm","weight":1.0,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"Custom code is available at https://github.com/thechenlab/Testis_Slide-seq .","grounded":true,"rationale":"A machine-resolvable code repository URL is provided. [majority verdict 'yes' (4/5 passes agreed)]","anchors":["NIH DMS Policy Element 2 (NOT-OD-21-014) — 'Related Tools, Software and/or Code'","FAIR4RS Principles v1.0 (Chue Hong et al., 2022; RDA/FORCE11/ReSA) — FAIR Principles for Resear","FORCE11 Software Citation Principles (Smith, Katz & Niemeyer, 2016, PeerJ CS 2:e86)"],"scored":true,"signal":null},{"key":"x_funding_attribution","label":"Funder and award number","kind":"llm","weight":0.5,"fraction":1.0,"verdict":"yes","evidence":"This work was supported by an NIH New Innovator Award (DP2 AG058488-01 to E.Z.M.), an NIH Early Independence Award (DP5, 1DP5OD024583 to F.C.), the NHGRI (grant R01, R01HG010647 to E.Z.M. and F.C.), the Burroughs Wellcome Fund CASI award (to F.C.), NICHD R01 HD056034 to C.Y.C., and the Schmidt Fellows Program at the Broad Institute and the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research (F.C.).","grounded":true,"rationale":"Multiple grant numbers are provided with named funders. 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'Free to use' is not a licence: it grants nothing a reuser's institution can rely on.","anchors":["yes","partial","no"],"verdict":"no","current":0.0,"evidence":null,"why":"No license is stated for the data; the article's CC BY-NC-ND license applies only to the paper.","gain":16.67,"priority":"essential","scored":true},{"key":"i_open_nonproprietary_format","dimension":"I","label":"Open file format","action":"Release the data in an open, community-standard format (CSV/TSV, JSON, HDF5, NetCDF, FASTQ, VCF, NIfTI…) instead of — or alongside — any proprietary or instrument-native format, and name the format in the paper. A dataset that needs a €2,000 licence to open is not reusable. Prefer open genomics / sequencing formats such as FASTQ, BAM or VCF.","anchors":["yes","partial","no"],"verdict":"no","current":0.0,"evidence":null,"why":"No file format is named for the released data.","gain":8.33,"priority":"important","scored":true},{"key":"f_dataset_cited","dimension":"F","label":"Dataset formally cited","action":"Cite the dataset in the reference list like a publication — creator, year, title, repository, DOI/accession — and cite it in-text where it is used. Only a reference- list entry is machine-readable to Crossref/DataCite, and only a citation lets the data earn credit. Cite the genomics / sequencing repository accession (e.g. from GEO (GSE accession), SRA (SRP/SRR) or ENA/BioProject (PRJEB/PRJNA)) in the reference list.","anchors":["yes","partial","no"],"verdict":"partial","current":0.5,"evidence":"The raw sequencing data supporting the findings of this study are available in NCBI BioProject database with BioProject ID: PRJNA668433.","why":"The dataset identifier appears only in the body text, not in the reference list.","gain":4.17,"priority":"important","scored":true},{"key":"r_versioning","dimension":"R","label":"Snapshot identified","action":"Version the deposit and cite the exact version analysed (a version-specific DOI, or an accession with its version suffix). A reader reproducing your work against 'the current release' is reproducing it against a different dataset.","anchors":["yes","partial","no"],"verdict":"no","current":0.0,"evidence":null,"why":"No version token or date is given to identify a specific snapshot of the data.","gain":4.17,"priority":"useful","scored":true},{"key":"f_discovery_metadata","dimension":"F","label":"Description of the dataset as an object","action":"Add a 'Data Records' section: itemise every file in the deposit and every variable or sample it holds, with counts and units. Describe the dataset as an object in its own right, not as a by-product of the findings — this is what makes it discoverable to someone who is not looking for your paper.","anchors":["yes","partial","no"],"verdict":"partial","current":0.5,"evidence":"The processed data including the gene expression matrices, bead location matrices, and the NMFreg-enabled cell type assignment matrices are available at https://www.dropbox.com/s/ygzpj0d0oh67br0/Testis_Slideseq_Data.zip?dl=0 .","why":"The dataset's content is described in running prose, not an itemized inventory. [majority verdict 'partial' (3/5 passes agreed)]","gain":0.0,"priority":"essential","scored":false},{"key":"a_access_conditions_stated","dimension":"A","label":"Access level labelled","action":"State the access level in words, using the standard vocabulary: 'These data are open access' / 'These data are controlled access'. A reader — and a harvester — should not have to infer the access level from the presence of a download link.","anchors":["yes","partial","no"],"verdict":"partial","current":0.5,"evidence":"The raw sequencing data supporting the findings of this study are available in NCBI BioProject database with BioProject ID: PRJNA668433.","why":"The paper describes that the data are available in a public repository, but does not apply an explicit access-level label such as 'open access' or 'freely available' to the data itself. [majority verdict 'partial' (4/5 passes agreed)]","gain":0.0,"priority":"important","scored":false},{"key":"i_community_standard_vocabulary","dimension":"I","label":"Community standard / vocabulary","action":"Adopt and NAME your domain's data standard — the minimum-information checklist, metadata schema, or ontology your community uses (MIAME/MINSEQE, ISA-Tab, BIDS, an OBO ontology, HL7 FHIR/OMOP) — and say which one you followed. A reporting checklist standardises your paper; it does nothing for your data. In genomics / sequencing, describe the data with MIAME, MINSEQE or MIxS.","anchors":["yes","partial","no"],"verdict":"no","current":0.0,"evidence":null,"why":"No data or metadata community standard is named as applied to the data.","gain":0.0,"priority":"important","scored":false},{"key":"r_documentation_codebook","dimension":"R","label":"Documentation / codebook","action":"Ship a README and a data dictionary IN the deposit — every file, every variable, its units, its allowed values, its missing-value codes. It is the cheapest single thing that makes a dataset usable by someone who was not in the lab, and a table buried in the article does not travel with the data.","anchors":["yes","partial","no"],"verdict":"no","current":0.0,"evidence":null,"why":"No documentation object (README, codebook, etc.) is mentioned as accompanying the data.","gain":0.0,"priority":"important","scored":false},{"key":"a_controlled_access_for_sensitive","dimension":"A","label":"Gatekeeper for sensitive data","action":"Route sensitive data through an institutional gatekeeper — deposit in a controlled- access repository (dbGaP, EGA) with a Data Access Committee and a published DUA — rather than through the corresponding author's inbox. An author-gated dataset dies with the author's email address, and 'on reasonable request' has been shown repeatedly not to yield data. 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[majority verdict 'no' (3/5 passes agreed)]","gain":0.0,"priority":"useful","scored":false}],"suggestions":["Attach a standard, machine-readable open licence to the deposit — CC0 or CC BY, which is what Horizon Europe and most funders expect — and print the licence identifier in the paper. 'Free to use' is not a licence: it grants nothing a reuser's institution can rely on.","Release the data in an open, community-standard format (CSV/TSV, JSON, HDF5, NetCDF, FASTQ, VCF, NIfTI…) instead of — or alongside — any proprietary or instrument-native format, and name the format in the paper. A dataset that needs a €2,000 licence to open is not reusable. Prefer open genomics / sequencing formats such as FASTQ, BAM or VCF.","Cite the dataset in the reference list like a publication — creator, year, title, repository, DOI/accession — and cite it in-text where it is used. Only a reference- list entry is machine-readable to Crossref/DataCite, and only a citation lets the data earn credit. Cite the genomics / sequencing repository accession (e.g. from GEO (GSE accession), SRA (SRP/SRR) or ENA/BioProject (PRJEB/PRJNA)) in the reference list.","Version the deposit and cite the exact version analysed (a version-specific DOI, or an accession with its version suffix). A reader reproducing your work against 'the current release' is reproducing it against a different dataset.","Add a 'Data Records' section: itemise every file in the deposit and every variable or sample it holds, with counts and units. Describe the dataset as an object in its own right, not as a by-product of the findings — this is what makes it discoverable to someone who is not looking for your paper."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash","agent_version":"fair_agent_v8","fulltext_source":"epmc_xml"},"fair_model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash","fair_agent_version":"fair_agent_v8","fair_fulltext_source":"epmc_xml","fair_has_llm":true,"fair_computed_at":"2026-07-20T10:59:46.225209Z","clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}