Bisulfite-free epigenomics and genomics of single cells through methylation-sensitive restriction

Single-cell multi-omics are powerful means to study cell-to-cell heterogeneity. Here, we present a single-tube, bisulfite-free method for the simultaneous, genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation and genetic variants in single cells: epigenomics and genomics of single cells analyzed by restriction (epi-gSCAR). By applying this method, we obtained DNA methylation measurements of up to 506,063 CpGs and up to 1,244,188 single-nucleotide variants from single acute myeloid leukemia-derived cells. We demonstrate that epi-gSCAR generates accurate and reproducible measurements of DNA methylation and allows to differentiate between cell lines based on the DNA methylation and genetic profiles. Niemoller et al. describe a bisulfite-free assay to assess epigenomics and genomics of single cells (epi-gSCAR). epi-gSCAR generates accurate and reproducible measurements of global DNA methylation and genetic variants at the single cell level, allowing for in-depth analyses of cell-to-cell heterogeneity.

Automated summary

The study introduces a novel method, epi-gSCAR, for analyzing DNA methylation and genetic variants in single cells, allowing for accurate and reproducible measurements at the single cell level, and enabling differentiation between cell lines based on their DNA methylation and genetic profiles.