Taking arrays from the lab to the field: trying to make sense of the unknown.
With the rapid pace of nucleic acid microarray technology development and a renewed national emphasis on detecting and characterizing microorganisms in environmental samples, there is a rush to operationalize existing microarray technologies and apply them to uncharacterized environmental backgrounds. The purpose of this article is to pause and ask a basic question: what do microarray data actually mean in the face of uncharacterized sample backgrounds? In attempting to answer this question, we draw a clear distinction between hypothesis-driven fundamental science and operational uses of microarray technology; assess microarray technology assumptions in the face of uncharacterized environments; offer an environmental microbiologist's perspective on technology needs and requirements for quantitatively analyzing microbial communities; and hopefully stimulate a scientific and technical dialogue around the concept of analytical environmental microbiology and future technology development.
Chandler
Darrell P
DP
Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439, USA. dchandler@anl.gov
Jarrell
Ann E
AE
D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes