Generation of Single-Cell Transcript Variability by Repression.

ABSTRACT: Gene expression levels vary greatly within similar cells, even within clonal cell populations [1]. These spontaneous expression differences underlie cell fate diversity in both differentiation and disease [2]. The mechanisms responsible for generating expression variability are poorly understood. Using single-cell transcriptomics, we show that transcript variability emerging during Dictyostelium differentiation is driven predominantly by repression rather than activation. The increased variability of repressed genes was observed over a broad range of expression levels, indicating that variability is actively imposed and not a passive statistical effect of the reduced numbers of molecules accompanying repression. These findings can be explained by a simple model of transcript production, wi

SUBMITTER: Antolovic V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5483230 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature