Building a lineage from single cells: genetic techniques for cell lineage tracking

Lineage analyses of multicellular organisms provide key insights into developmental mechanisms and how these developmental trajectories go awry in diverse diseases. This Review discusses the features, technical challenges and latest opportunities of an evolving range of sophisticated genetic techniques for tracking cell lineages in organisms. These strategies include methods for prospective tracking using engineered genetic constructs, as well as retrospective tracking based on naturally occurring somatic mutations.

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