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Spatio-DARLIN maps cell state and clonal history in intact mouse tissues

Nature Methods Bioinformatics AI 2026-07-17

TL;DR - Spatio-DARLIN is a method that pairs high-diversity genetic lineage tracing with spatial transcriptomics, letting researchers simultaneously read out cell lineage, gene expression, and physical location within a single intact mouse tissue section. This matters because it links clonal history to spatial context, illuminating how tissues develop and maintain themselves.

  • Combines a high-diversity DARLIN lineage-tracing system with spatial transcriptomics in the same tissue slice, capturing clonal identity, transcriptome, and location together.
  • Reported to reliably recover thousands of clones, indicating high barcode diversity and clone-resolution power.
  • Applied to mouse intestine and brain, showing clonal architecture maps onto tissue development and homeostasis.
  • A methods paper (Nature Methods); the summary describes capabilities and applications rather than detailed quantitative benchmarks.

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