Deterministic patterns in single-cell transcriptomic data

Zhixing Cao; Yiling Wang; Ramon Grima

doi:10.1038/s41540-025-00490-5

Deterministic patterns in single-cell transcriptomic data

NPJ Syst Biol Appl. 2025 Jan 11;11(1):6. doi: 10.1038/s41540-025-00490-5.

Authors

Zhixing Cao^{1

2}, Yiling Wang³, Ramon Grima⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China. [email protected].
² Department of Chemical Engineering, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada. [email protected].
³ State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China.
⁴ School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. [email protected].

PMID: 39799124
DOI: 10.1038/s41540-025-00490-5

Abstract

We report the existence of deterministic patterns in statistical plots of single-cell transcriptomic data. We develop a theory showing that the patterns are neither artifacts introduced by the measurement process nor due to underlying biological mechanisms. Rather they naturally emerge from finite sample size effects. The theory precisely predicts the patterns in data from multiplexed error-robust fluorescence in situ hybridization and five different types of single-cell sequencing platforms.

MeSH terms

Computational Biology / methods
Gene Expression Profiling* / methods
Humans
In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence* / methods
Single-Cell Analysis* / methods
Transcriptome* / genetics

Abstract

MeSH terms

Grants and funding