Synthetic organelle records transcriptome-wide single-cell RNA histories in human cells

Researchers have built a synthetic organelle, the recordanelle, that continuously captures and protects endogenous mRNAs inside living human cells. Demonstrated in HEK293T cells, the system preserved RNA records well enough that transcriptional events could be reconstructed at single-cell resolution after interferon-beta stimulation was withdrawn. Rather than taking a snapshot of gene expression at one moment, the approach logs molecular history over time, which is usually lost in standard single-cell RNA sequencing. The Nature Biotechnology report establishes proof of concept in one cell line and one stimulus. Open questions include how the recordanelle performs across other cell types, longer recording windows and additional perturbations, and whether it can be applied beyond cultured human cells.

Written by a model from the reports · updated 3 hours ago