Single cell sequencing: a distinct new field

Single cell sequencing (SCS) has become a new approach to study biological heterogeneity. The advancement in technologies for single cell isolation, amplification of genome/transcriptome and next-generation sequencing enables SCS to reveal the inherent properties of a single cell from the large scale of the genome, transcriptome or epigenome at high resolution. Recently, SCS has been widely applied in various clinical and research fields, such as cancer biology and oncology, immunology, microbiology, neurobiology and prenatal diagnosis. In this review, we will discuss the development of SCS methods and focus on the latest clinical and research applications of SCS.