transcriptome sequencing

Using new sequencing technology to look at gene expression in a single cell

User Image dgmacarthur | April 7, 2009
Jeffrey Perkel at Biotechnically Speaking has a great overview of a recent paper in Nature Methods (see also coverage at GenomeWeb). The study in question used second-generation sequencing (with the ABI SOLiD system) to peer inside a single cell isolated from a mouse embryo. By sequencing the messenger RNA (mRNA) produced by the cell's genome they were able to generate a high-resolution snapshot of the genes switched on by the cell. Isolating and analysing RNA from a single cell is no small technical feat, and although the technique still has its limitations - for instance, the technique can…