Splice isoform switching

The team at the Crown Institute for Genomics has collaborated with the Bar-Ilan University lab of Dr. Tomer Kalisky in order to study gene expression during kidney development. Stem cells in the kidney undergo mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET), followed by a series of differentiation events that eventually create the various cell types that constitute the developed kidney. Using the Smart-seq2 method adopted by the G-INCPM genomics team, the scientists performed single-cell RNA sequencing on hundreds of individual cells. They were able to detect splice isoform switching events that occur during development, shedding more light both on kidney differentiation, and on the “reverse” process of renal tumorigenesis.