title: Compositional properties of human cDNA libraries: practical implications.
abstract: The strikingly wide and bimodal gene distribution exhibited by the human genome has prompted us to study the correlations between EST-counts (expression levels) and base composition of genes, especially since existing data are contradictory. Here we investigate how cDNA library preparation affects the GC distributions of ESTs and/or genes found in the library, and address consequences for expression studies. We observe that strongly anomalous GC distributions often indicate experimental biases or deficits during their preparation. We propose the use of compositional distributions of raw ESTs from a cDNA library, and/or of the genes they represent, as a simple and effective tool for quality control.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Evolution, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, 80121 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Stilianos
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arhondakis
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Clay
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bernardi
mesh_terms: D001482:Base Composition; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D015723:Gene Library; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011467:Prostate / Q000201:enzymology; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes