scONE-seq: A single-cell multi-omics method enables simultaneous dissection of phenotype and genotype heterogeneity from frozen tumors
Lei Yu, Xinlei Wang, Quanhua Mu, Sindy Sing Ting Tam, Danson Loi, Aden Ka‐Yin Chan, Wai Sang Poon, Ho‐Keung Ng, Danny Tat Ming Chan, Jiguang Wang, Angela Ruohao Wu
Abstract
Single-cell multi-omics can provide a unique perspective on tumor cellular heterogeneity. Most previous single-cell whole-genome RNA sequencing (scWGS-RNA-seq) methods demonstrate utility with intact cells from fresh samples. Among them, many are not applicable to frozen samples that cannot produce intact single-cell suspensions. We have developed scONE-seq, a versatile scWGS-RNA-seq method that amplifies single-cell DNA and RNA without separating them from each other and hence is compatible with frozen biobanked samples. We benchmarked scONE-seq against existing methods using fresh and frozen samples to demonstrate its performance in various aspects. We identified a unique transcriptionally normal-like tumor clone by analyzing a 2-year frozen astrocytoma sample, demonstrating that performing single-cell multi-omics interrogation on biobanked tissue by scONE-seq could enable previously unidentified discoveries in tumor biology.