Publications
Cell genomicsSep 2025 |
100984
DOI:
10.1016/j.xgen.2025.100984

Sensitive dissection of a genomic regulatory landscape using bulk and targeted single-cell activation

Vučićević, Dubravka; Hsu, Che-Wei; Lopez Zepeda, Lorena Sofia; Burkert, Martin; Hirsekorn, Antje; Bilić, Ilija; Kastelić, Nicolai; Landthaler, Markus; Lacadie, Scott Allen; Ohler, Uwe
Product Used
Oligo Pools
Abstract
Enhancers are known to spatiotemporally regulate gene transcription, yet the identification of enhancers and their target genes is often indirect, low resolution, and/or assumptive. To identify and functionally perturb enhancers at their endogenous sites, we performed a pooled tiling CRISPR activation (CRISPRa) screen surrounding PHOX2B, a master regulator of neuronal cell fate and a key player in neuroblastoma, and found many CRISPRa-responsive elements (CaREs) that alter cellular growth. To determine CaRE target genes, we developed TESLA-seq (targeted single-cell activation), which combines CRISPRa screening with targeted single-cell RNA sequencing and enables the parallel readout of the effect of hundreds of enhancers on all genes in the locus. While most TESLA-revealed CaRE-gene relationships involved neuroblastoma-related regulatory elements, we found many CaREs and target connections normally active only in other tissues. This highlights the power of TESLA-seq to reveal gene regulatory networks, including edges active outside of a given experimental system.
Product Used
Oligo Pools

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