Single cell functional genomics reveals the importance of mitochondria in cell-to-cell phenotypic variation

Yeast cells were stained with TMRE, which measures mitochondrial membrane potential, and were sorted onto four bins - HI,M1,M2 and LO, from TMRE vs cell-size plot. Total RNA was isolated from cells and RNA sequencing was done to compare transcriptome profile in sub-population of cells that differ in mitochondrial membrane potential. Cells with high potential showed repression of respiration genes, exhibited signs of DNA damage and iron deficiency.酵母细胞经TMRE（四甲基罗丹明乙酯，Tetramethylrhodamine Ethyl Ester）染色，该染料可用于检测线粒体膜电位；基于TMRE信号与细胞大小的散点图，将细胞分为四个分群：HI、M1、M2与LO。从细胞中分离总RNA并开展RNA测序，以比较线粒体膜电位存在差异的细胞亚群的转录组谱。高膜电位细胞表现出呼吸基因的表达抑制，同时呈现DNA损伤与铁缺乏的相关特征。