Combinatorial single-cell CRISPR screens by direct guide RNA capture and targeted sequencing

Nat Biotechnol. 2020 Aug;38(8):954-961. doi: 10.1038/s41587-020-0470-y. Epub 2020 Mar 30.

Abstract

Single-cell CRISPR screens enable the exploration of mammalian gene function and genetic regulatory networks. However, use of this technology has been limited by reliance on indirect indexing of single-guide RNAs (sgRNAs). Here we present direct-capture Perturb-seq, a versatile screening approach in which expressed sgRNAs are sequenced alongside single-cell transcriptomes. Direct-capture Perturb-seq enables detection of multiple distinct sgRNA sequences from individual cells and thus allows pooled single-cell CRISPR screens to be easily paired with combinatorial perturbation libraries that contain dual-guide expression vectors. We demonstrate the utility of this approach for high-throughput investigations of genetic interactions and, leveraging this ability, dissect epistatic interactions between cholesterol biogenesis and DNA repair. Using direct capture Perturb-seq, we also show that targeting individual genes with multiple sgRNAs per cell improves efficacy of CRISPR interference and activation, facilitating the use of compact, highly active CRISPR libraries for single-cell screens. Last, we show that hybridization-based target enrichment permits sensitive, specific sequencing of informative transcripts from single-cell RNA-seq experiments.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • CRISPR-Cas Systems*
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Gene Targeting
  • HEK293 Cells
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Humans
  • Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / methods*
  • RNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems / genetics*
  • Single-Cell Analysis
  • Transcriptome

Substances

  • RNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems