Does a cell’s gene expression always reflect its function?
Nature, Published online: 12 February 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00088-1Defining a cell’s ‘type’ by the RNA transcripts it expresses is popular in biological research, but evidence from zebrafish neurons suggests that transcriptionally similar cells can be functionally diverse.
![Does a cell’s gene expression always reflect its function?](https://media.nature.com/lw1200/magazine-assets/d41586-025-00088-1/d41586-025-00088-1_50594798.jpg)
Nature, Published online: 12 February 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00088-1Defining a cell’s ‘type’ by the RNA transcripts it expresses is popular in biological research, but evidence from zebrafish neurons suggests that transcriptionally similar cells can be functionally diverse.