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An oracle predicts regulators of cell identity

A computational tool called CellOracle can predict how networks of genes interact to program cell identity during embryonic development. The tool should help to hone efforts to understand how development is regulated.
  1. Jeffrey A. Farrell

    1. Jeffrey A. Farrell is in the Division of Developmental Biology, NICHD Intramural Research Program, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, USA.

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As an animal develops, each of its thousands or even trillions of cells must be programmed to adopt one of many possible cell identities. This programming is controlled by a group of proteins and the genes that encode them, which are collectively known as developmental regulators. Writing in Nature, Kamimoto et al.1 present a computational approach to predict the shifts in cell identity that will occur if levels of individual developmental regulators are altered. Their systematic approach promises to help researchers determine the regulators most worthy of further study, saving valuable resources and suggesting biological phenomena that might previously have been missed.

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Nature 614, 630-632 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00251-6

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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