Cited by 4,521Single-cell and spatial transcriptomicsGene expression and cancer classificationGenomics and Phylogenetic Studies

DoubletFinder: Doublet Detection in Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Data Using Artificial Nearest Neighbors

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McGinnis, Christopher S., Murrow, Lyndsay M., Gartner, Zev J.·2019·Cell Systems

Published version of a preprint

Abstract

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data are commonly affected by technical artifacts known as "doublets," which limit cell throughput and lead to spurious biological conclusions. Here, we present a computational doublet detection tool-DoubletFinder-that identifies doublets using only gene expression data. DoubletFinder predicts doublets according to each real cell's proximity in gene expression space to artificial doublets created by averaging the transcriptional profile of randomly chosen cell pairs. We first use scRNA-seq datasets where the identity of doublets is known to show that DoubletFinder identifies doublets formed from transcriptionally distinct cells. When these doublets are removed, the identification of differentially expressed genes is enhanced. Second, we provide a method for estimating DoubletFinder input parameters, allowing its application across scRNA-seq datasets with diverse distributions of cell types. Lastly, we present "best practices" for DoubletFinder applications and illustrate that DoubletFinder is insensitive to an experimentally validated kidney cell type with "hybrid" expression features.

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Authors
McGinnis, C. S., Murrow, L. M., & Gartner, Z. J.
Affiliations
University of California, San Francisco (US)
Corresponding author
Gartner, Zev J.
Venue
Cell Systems
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-04
Volume
8
Issue
4
Pages
329-337.e4
ISSN
2405-4712 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2953151710
Cited by
4,521
References
40
Citations by year
2026: 1009 · 2025: 1128 · 2024: 982 · 2023: 635 · 2022: 397 · 2021: 224 · 2020: 107 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 4 · 2014: 1
FWCI
64.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Cell Systems (publishedVersion)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Department of Defense (W81XWH-10-1-1023, W81XWH-13-1-0221)
  • NIH (DP2 HD080351-01)
  • NSF (MCB-1330864)
  • UCSF (DBI-1548297)
  • Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (DRG-2239-15)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Single-cell and spatial transcriptomics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gene expression and cancer classification
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies
Keywords
doublet detection, single-cell RNA sequencing, nearest neighbors, technical artifacts, differentially expressed genes, parameter estimation, kidney cells
MeSH terms
RNA-Seq, Humans, Software, Single-Cell Analysis

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