Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Genome Watch
  • Published:

Single-cell genomics

Abstract

Efforts to describe and functionally categorize the amazing diversity of microbial life have long been hampered by our inability to cultivate most microorganisms in the laboratory. Recent technological advances in whole-genome amplification and cell sorting now permit insights into previously uncharacterized microorganisms, without prior cultivation. This month's Genome Watch reviews a selection of the initial attempts to exploit these important advances.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Overview of the principle of multiple displacement amplification.

References

  1. Pinard, R. et al. Assessment of whole genome amplification-induced bias through high-throughput, massively parallel whole genome sequencing. BMC Genomics 7, 216 (2006).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Lasken, R. S. Single-cell genomic sequencing using multiple displacement amplification. Curr. Opin. Microbiol. 10, 510–516 (2007).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Marcy, Y. et al. Nanoliter reactors improve multiple displacement amplification of genomes from single cells. PLoS Genet. 3, e155 (2007).

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Zhang, K. et al. Sequencing genomes from single cells by polymerase cloning. Nature Biotechnol. 24, 680–686 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Raghunathan, A. et al. Genomic DNA amplification from a single bacterium. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71, 3342–3347 (2005).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Kvist, T. et al. Specific single-cell isolation and genomic amplification of uncultured microorganisms. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 74, 926–935 (2007).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Marcy, Y. et al. Dissecting biological “dark matter” with single-cell genetic analysis of rare and uncultivated TM7 microbes from the human mouth. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 104, 11889–11894 (2007).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Podar, M. et al. Targeted access to the genomes of low-abundance organisms in complex microbial communities. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73, 3205–3214 (2007).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Spits, C. et al. Whole-genome multiple displacement amplification from single cells Nature Protoc. 1, 1965–1970 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Related links

Related links

DATABASES

Entrez Genome

Escherichia coli

Prochlorococcus marinus

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Walker, A., Parkhill, J. Single-cell genomics. Nat Rev Microbiol 6, 176–177 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro1862

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro1862

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing