diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 06df562b..6483c889 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning][].
 [keep a changelog]: https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/
 [semantic versioning]: https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html
 
+## [0.1.6] - xxxx-xx-xx
+
+-   (MERSCOPE) added `feature_key` attribute for points (i.e., the `'gene'` column) #210
+
 ## [0.1.5] - 2024-09-25
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/src/spatialdata_io/_constants/_constants.py b/src/spatialdata_io/_constants/_constants.py
index 9ec43fa9..34848137 100644
--- a/src/spatialdata_io/_constants/_constants.py
+++ b/src/spatialdata_io/_constants/_constants.py
@@ -322,6 +322,7 @@ class MerscopeKeys(ModeEnum):
     GLOBAL_Z = "global_z"
     Z_INDEX = "ZIndex"
     REGION_KEY = "cells_region"
+    GENE_KEY = "gene"
 
 
 @unique
diff --git a/src/spatialdata_io/readers/merscope.py b/src/spatialdata_io/readers/merscope.py
index c5c5cf03..2d916ea7 100644
--- a/src/spatialdata_io/readers/merscope.py
+++ b/src/spatialdata_io/readers/merscope.py
@@ -303,6 +303,7 @@ def _get_points(transcript_path: Path, transformations: dict[str, BaseTransforma
         transcript_df,
         coordinates={"x": MerscopeKeys.GLOBAL_X, "y": MerscopeKeys.GLOBAL_Y},
         transformations=transformations,
+        feature_key=MerscopeKeys.GENE_KEY,
     )
     transcripts["gene"] = transcripts["gene"].astype("category")
     return transcripts