Parallel Bimodal Single-cell Sequencing of Transcriptome and Chromatin Accessibility

We developed ASTAR-Seq (Assay for Single-cell Transcriptome and Accessibility Regions) integrated with automated microfluidic chips, which allows for parallel sequencing of transcriptome and chromatin accessibility within the same single-cell. Using ASTAR-Seq, we profiled 192 mESCs cultured in serum+LIF and 2i medium, 424 human cell lines including BJ, K562, JK1, and Jurkat, and 480 primary cells undergoing erythroblast differentiation. Integrative analysis using Coupled NMF identified the distinct sub-populations and uncovered sets of regulatory regions and the respective target genes determining their distinctions. Analysis of epigenetic regulomes further unravelled the key transcription factors responsible for the heterogeneity observed.