Accurate identification of single nucleotide variants in whole genome amplified single cells

Genome-wide, DNA mutation analysis in single cells is prone to artifacts associated with cell lysis and whole genome amplification. Here we addressed these issues by developing Single-Cell Multiple Displacement Amplification (SCMDA) and the single-cell variant caller, SCcaller. Validated by comparing SCMDA-amplified single cells with unamplified clones from the same population, the procedure provides a firm foundation for standardizing somatic mutation analysis in single-cell genomics.