LinRace: single cell lineage reconstruction using paired lineage barcode and gene expression data

Area of Science:

• Developmental Biology
• Stem Cell Biology
• Genomics
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Understanding single-cell division and differentiation is crucial in developmental and stem cell biology.
• CRISPR/Cas9-based lineage tracing enables simultaneous gene expression and lineage barcode readouts for cell division tree reconstruction.
• Current lineage reconstruction methods primarily use lineage barcodes, with emerging approaches incorporating gene expression data for improved accuracy.

Conclusions:

• LinRace provides a powerful new approach for lineage reconstruction by effectively integrating multi-modal single-cell data.
• The ability to infer ancestral cell states offers novel opportunities for studying cell fate decisions and developmental processes.
• This method advances the field of developmental biology by enabling more comprehensive analysis of cell division and differentiation.