Over the past decade, genomic analyses of single cells-the fundamental units of life-have become possible. Single-cell DNA sequencing has shed light on biological questions that were previously inaccessible across diverse fields of research, including somatic mutagenesis, organismal development, genome function, and microbiology. Single-cell DNA sequencing also promises significant future biomedical and clinical impact, spanning oncology, fertility, and beyond. While single-cell approaches that profile RNA and protein have greatly expanded our understanding of cellular diversity, many fundamental questions in biology and important biomedical applications require analysis of the DNA of single cells. Here, we review the applications and biological questions for which single-cell DNA sequencing is uniquely suited or required. We include a discussion of the fields that will be impacted by single-cell DNA sequencing as the technology continues to advance. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics Volume 22 is August 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

中文翻译：

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单细胞DNA测序的应用。

在过去的十年中，单细胞的基因组分析（生命的基本单位）成为可能。单细胞DNA测序揭示了以前在各个研究领域都无法解决的生物学问题，包括体细胞诱变，有机体发育，基因组功能和微生物学。单细胞DNA测序还有望在肿瘤，生育力及其他领域带来重大的未来生物医学和临床影响。尽管描述RNA和蛋白质的单细胞方法极大地扩展了我们对细胞多样性的理解，但是生物学和重要生物医学应用中的许多基本问题都需要分析单细胞的DNA。在这里，我们回顾了单细胞DNA测序特别适合或需要的应用和生物学问题。随着技术的不断发展，我们将讨论受单细胞DNA测序影响的领域。《基因组学和人类遗传学年鉴》第22卷的最终最终预期发布日期是2021年8月。有关修订的估算，请参见http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates。