Prospects of Identifying Alternative Splicing Events from Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Data

Background The advent of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technology has offered unprecedented opportunities to unravel cellular heterogeneity and functions. Yet, despite its success in unraveling gene expression heterogeneity, accurately identifying and interpreting alternative splicing events from scRNA-seq data remains a formidable challenge. With advancing technology and algorithmic innovations, the prospect of accurately identifying alternative splicing events from scRNA-seq data is becoming increasingly promising.Objective This perspective aims to uncover the intricacies of splicing at the single-cell level and their potential implications for health and disease. It seeks to harness scRNA-seq's transformative power in revealing cell-specific alternative splicing dynamics and aims to propel our understanding of gene regulation within individual cells to new heights.Methods The perspective grounds its method on recent literature along with the experimental protocols of single-cell RNA-seq and methods to identify and quantify the alternative splicing events from scRNA-seq data.Results This perspective outlines the promising potential, challenges, and methodologies for leveraging different scRNA-seq technologies to identify and study alternative splicing events, with a focus on advancing our understanding of gene regulation at the single-cell level.Conclusion This perspective explores the prospects of utilizing scRNA-seq data to identify and study alternative splicing events, highlighting their potential, challenges, methodologies, biological insights, and future directions.