New single-cell RNA-sequencing method has potential to become universal tool of choice

The Institute ofMolecular and Clinical Ophthalmology is in Basel.

A new single-cell RNA-sequencing protocol developed at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel enables the detection of a significantly higher number of genes per cell than any existing method. It is more sensitive, less expensive and faster. The new method has been published.

Single-cell RNA-sequencing shows which genes are turned on in a cell. scRNA-seq allows for in-depth assessment of the biology of individual cells, and detection of changes that may indicate disease. It is important to study population heterogeneity, identify minority sub-populations of interest, and discover unique characteristics of individual cells. Single-cell sequencing is used for the analysis of de novo germline mutations in normal and diseased cells, as well as in cancer cells.

The protocol developed at IOB can be used to study any disease model requiring the analysis of rare cell populations at high resolution. The head of the IOB Single-Cell Genomics Platform and senior author of the paper explains that the protocol provides a snapshot of the cell transcriptome at an unprecedented resolution. The method can be adapted to different needs. It helps to know which genes are present in health and disease. It gives a much deeper picture of the expression of the genes, especially after a disease or defect. It is easy to set up in the lab, 50% faster and cheaper than similar existing protocols, and can be used to study the mechanisms of disease beyond the scope of current single-cell sequencing tools.

The method can generate libraries in half a day. Researchers at IOB believe that FLASH-seq has the potential to become the tool of choice when looking for an efficient, robust, modular, affordable and automation-friendly full-length scRNA-seq protocol.

More information: Vincent Hahaut et al, Fast and highly sensitive full-length single-cell RNA sequencing using FLASH-seq, Nature Biotechnology (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41587-022-01312-3 Journal information: Nature Biotechnology Provided by Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel Citation: New single-cell RNA-sequencing method has potential to become universal tool of choice (2022, May 30) retrieved 30 May 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-05-single-cell-rna-sequencing-method-potential-universal.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.