A perspective on DNA microarray technology in food and nutritional science.
OBJECTIVE
The functions of nutrients and other foods have been revealed at the level of gene regulation. The advent of DNA microarray technology has enabled us to analyze the body's response to these factors in a much more holistic manner than before. This review is intended to overview the present status of this DNA microarray technology, hoping to provide food and nutrition scientists, especially those who are planning to introduce this technology, with hints and suggestions.


RESULTS
The number of papers examining transcriptomics analysis in food and nutrition science has expanded over the last few years. The effects of some dietary conditions and administration of specific nutrients or food factors are studied in various animal models and cultured cells. The target food components range from macronutrients and micronutrients to other functional food factors. Such studies have already yielded fruitful results, which include discovery of novel functions of a food, uncovering hitherto unknown mechanisms of action, and analyses of food safety.


CONCLUSIONS
The potency of DNA microarray technology in food and nutrition science is broadly recognized. This technique will surely continue to provide researchers and the public with valuable information on the beneficial and adverse effects of food factors. It should also be acknowledged, however, that there remain problems such as standardization of the data and sharing of the results among researchers in this field.
Kato
Hisanori
H
Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. akatoq@mail.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Saito
Kenji
K
Kimura
Takeshi
T
D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D005524:Food Technology / Q000379:methods*; D030841:Food, Genetically Modified; D058870:Food, Organic; D023281:Genomics; D006801:Humans; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis