title: Live single-cell laser tag.
abstract: The ability to conduct image-based, non-invasive cell tagging, independent of genetic engineering, is key to cell biology applications. Here we introduce cell labelling via photobleaching (CLaP), a method that enables instant, specific tagging of individual cells based on a wide array of criteria such as shape, behaviour or positional information. CLaP uses laser illumination to crosslink biotin onto the plasma membrane, coupled with streptavidin conjugates to label individual cells for genomic, cell-tracking, flow cytometry or ultra-microscopy applications. We show that the incorporated mark is stable, non-toxic, retained for several days, and transferred by cell division but not to adjacent cells in culture. To demonstrate the potential of CLaP for genomic applications, we combine CLaP with microfluidics-based single-cell capture followed by transcriptome-wide next-generation sequencing. Finally, we show that CLaP can also be exploited for inducing transient cell adhesion to substrates for microengineering cultures with spatially patterned cell types.
authors.affiliation: Research Center of the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.|Department of Ophthalmology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Loïc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Binan
authors.affiliation: Research Center of the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Javier
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5168-9408
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mazzaferri
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.|Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Karine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Choquet
authors.affiliation: Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec, Québec, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Louis-Etienne
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5514-0049
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Lorenzo
authors.affiliation: McGill University and Genome Quebec Innovation Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Yu Chang
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Research Center of the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.|Department of Medecine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: El Bachir
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Affar
authors.affiliation: Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec, Québec, Quebec, Canada.|Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Université Laval, Québec, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5779-9330
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: De Koninck
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.|McGill University and Genome Quebec Innovation Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.|Center of Innovation in Personalized Medicine, Cancer and Mutagen Unit, King Fahd Center for Medical Research, Department of Biochemistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Jiannis
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ragoussis
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.|Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Claudia L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Kleinman
authors.affiliation: Research Center of the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.|Department of Ophthalmology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2454-2635
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Costantino
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004285:Dogs; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007834:Lasers; D061985:Madin Darby Canine Kidney Cells; D038761:Photobleaching; D059010:Single-Cell Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods*