22 September 2026 · International webinar
Researchers from the Institute of Biology and Immunology of Reproduction, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBIR-BAS), presented advances in single-cell long-read transcriptomics during the international webinar Beyond Gene Expression: Single-Cell Isoform-Resolved Biology, organised jointly by ArgenTag and Oxford Nanopore Technologies.
Resolving biological changes beyond gene-level expression
As an invited speaker, IBIR-BAS Director Prof. Soren Hayrabedyan presented practical experience with long-read single-cell sequencing in prostate-cancer research. The study examines mechanisms through which tumour cells acquire a more aggressive, stem-like phenotype and evade immune surveillance.
Results and bioinformatics analysis developed by Prof. Krasimira Todorova’s team indicate that key genes can switch between transcript isoforms without a corresponding change in their total expression level. Such isoform diversity may remain hidden in conventional gene-level analyses while carrying important information about cellular regulation and immune defence.
INFRAACT-enabled single-cell research
The work is supported by the research infrastructure established at IBIR-BAS through Bulgaria’s National Roadmap for Research Infrastructures. IBIR-BAS is a member of INFRAACT and participates in EATRIS Bulgaria.
The institute’s Section of Translational Multi-OMICS Technologies develops single-cell transcriptomics, direct RNA analysis and real-time multimodal imaging approaches. Its experience includes the implementation and optimisation of platforms from 10x Genomics, Singleron Biotechnologies and ArgenTag, combined with third-generation long-read sequencing protocols.
