Summary
Since its debut in 2009, single-cell RNA-seq has been a major propeller behind biomedical research progress. Developmental biology and stem cell studies especially benefit from the ability to profile single cells. While most studies still focus on individual tissues or organs, recent development of ultra-high-throughput single-cell RNA-seq has demonstrated potential power to depict more complexed system or even the entire body. Though multiple ultra-high-throughput single-cell RNA-seq systems have acquired attention, systematic comparison of these systems is yet available. Here we focus on three prevalent droplet-based ultra-high-throughput single-cell RNA-seq systems, inDrop, Drop-seq, and 10X Genomics Chromium. While each system is capable of profiling single-cell transcriptome, detailed comparison revealed distinguishing features and suitable application scenario for each system.