Single-cell RNA sequencing in Drosophila: Technologies and applications

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has emerged as a powerful tool for investigating cell states and functions at the single-cell level. It has greatly revolutionized transcriptomic studies in many life science research fields, such as neurobiology, immunology, and developmental biology. With the fast development of both experimental platforms and bioinformatics approaches over the past decade, scRNA-seq is becoming economically feasible and experimentally practical for many biomedical laboratories. Drosophila has served as an excellent model organism for dissecting cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie tissue development, adult cell function, disease, and aging. The recent application of scRNA-seq methods to Drosophila tissues has led to a number of exciting discoveries. In this review, I will provide a summary of recent scRNA-seq studies in Drosophila, focusing on technical approaches and biological applications. I will also discuss current challenges and future opportunities of making new discoveries using scRNA-seq in Drosophila. This article is categorized under: Technologies > Analysis of the Transcriptome.