We identify a fundamental statistical phenomenon in single-cell time courses with clone-based lineage tracing. Through simple probabilistic arguments, we show how the relative growth rates of cells influence the probability that they will be sampled in clones observed across multiple time points. We support these arguments with a simple simulation study and a time-course of T-cell development, and we demonstrate that this bias can impact fate probability predictions from trajectory inference methods. Finally, we explore how to develop trajectory inference methods which are robust to this bias. In particular, we show how to extend LineageOT to use data from clones observed across multiple time points.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.