In preprints: the fast-paced field of single-cell lineage tracing

Summary: A novel dual-channel recording system called iTracer was established for high-resolution lineage tracing, which combines reporter barcodes with inducible CRISPR-Cas9 scarring. The authors applied iTracer to explore clonality and lineage dynamics during cerebral organoid development, identifying a time window of fate restriction and variations in neurogenic dynamics between progenitor neuron families. Additionally, long-term four-dimensional light-sheet microscopy was established to confirm regional clonality in the developing neuroepithelium of cerebral organoids.

Summary: Lineage tracing and fate mapping are two disciplines for tracking cells and their progeny, with lineage tracing focusing on identifying progeny and fate maps showing embryo development. Recent genomic technologies have enabled high-resolution reconstruction of lineage relationships. Fate maps, however, offer spatial information often lost in lineage reconstruction.