Quantitative and multiplexed chemical-genetic phenotyping in mammalian cells with QMAP-Seq

Chemical-genetic interaction profiling in model organisms has proven powerful in providing insights into compound mechanism of action and gene function. However, identifying chemical-genetic interactions in mammalian systems has been limited to low-throughput or computational methods. Here, we develop Quantitative and Multiplexed Analysis of Phenotype by Sequencing (QMAP-Seq), which leverages next-generation sequencing for pooled high-throughput chemical-genetic profiling. We apply QMAP-Seq to investigate how cellular stress response factors affect therapeutic response in cancer. Using minimal automation, we treat pools of 60 cell types-comprising 12 genetic perturbations in five cell lines-with 1440 compound-dose combinations, generating 86,400 chemical-genetic measurements. QMAP-Seq produces precise and accurate quantitative measures of acute drug response comparable to gold standard assays, but with increased throughput at lower cost. Moreover, QMAP-Seq reveals clinically actionable drug vulnerabilities and functional relationships involving these stress response factors, many of which are activated in cancer. Thus, QMAP-Seq provides a broadly accessible and scalable strategy for chemical-genetic profiling in mammalian cells.