Enabling multiplexed testing of pooled donor cells through whole-genome sequencing

Area of Science:

• Genomics
• Bioinformatics
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Multiplex screening of cell lines is crucial for various biological and medical applications.
• Current methods often rely on unique DNA barcodes, which can be costly and complex.
• Efficiently analyzing mixed cell populations is a significant challenge in biological research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel method for multiplex screening of pooled donor cell lines.
• To accurately predict individual donor proportions within a mixture without DNA barcodes.
• To enable high-throughput analysis of diverse cell populations.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for donor identification.
• Employing whole-genome sequencing to capture genetic variation data.
• Developing a computational algorithm to calculate donor proportions from sequencing data.

Main Results:

• The method accurately predicts donor proportions in pooled cell lines.
• Robust performance demonstrated using both simulated and real experimental data.
• Successful multiplex screening of numerous donors en masse was achieved.

Conclusions:

• This novel approach enables efficient and accurate multiplex screening of cell line mixtures.
• The method bypasses the need for expensive and complex DNA barcoding strategies.
• Facilitates large-scale analysis of diverse cellular samples in research and diagnostics.