Single-cell genome and transcriptome sequencing without upfront whole-genome amplification reveals cell state plasticity of melanoma subclones

Abstract

Single-cell multi-omics methods enable the study of cell state diversity, which is largely determined by the interplay of the genome, epigenome, and transcriptome. Here, we describe Gtag&T-seq, a genome-and-transcriptome sequencing (G&T-seq) protocol of the same single cells that omits whole-genome amplification (WGA) by using direct genomic tagmentation (Gtag). Gtag drastically decreases the cost and improves coverage uniformity at single-cell and pseudo-bulk levels compared to WGA-based G&T-seq. We also show that transcriptome-based DNA copy number inference has limited resolution and accuracy, underlining the importance of affordable multi-omic approaches. Applying Gtag&T-seq to a melanoma xenograft model before treatment and at minimal residual disease revealed differential cell state plasticity and treatment response between cancer subclones. In summary, Gtag&T-seq is a low-cost and accurate single-cell multi-omics method that explores genetic alterations and their functional consequences in single cells at scale.