Amplification-free digital gene expression profiling from minute cell quantities.

Abstract

Generating reliable expression profiles from minute cell quantities is critical for scientific discovery and potential clinical applications. Here we present low-quantity digital gene expression (LQ-DGE), an amplification-free approach involving capture of poly(A)(+) RNAs from cellular lysates onto poly(dT)-coated sequencing surfaces, followed by on-surface reverse transcription and sequencing. We applied LQ-DGE to profile malignant and nonmalignant mouse and human cells, demonstrating its quantitative power and potential applicability to archival specimens.