Fundamental limits on dynamic inference from single-cell snapshots.

ABSTRACT: Single-cell expression profiling reveals the molecular states of individual cells with unprecedented detail. Because these methods destroy cells in the process of analysis, they cannot measure how gene expression changes over time. However, some information on dynamics is present in the data: the continuum of molecular states in the population can reflect the trajectory of a typical cell. Many methods for extracting single-cell dynamics from population data have been proposed. However, all such attempts face a common limitation: for any measured distribution of cell states, there are multiple dynamics that could give rise to it, and by extension, multiple possibilities for underlying mechanisms of gene regulation. Here, we describe the aspects of gene expression dynamics that cannot be inf

SUBMITTER: Weinreb C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5878004 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature