title: High-sensitivity transcriptome data structure and implications for analysis and biologic interpretation.
abstract: Novel microarray technologies such as the AB1700 platform from Applied Biosystems promise significant increases in the signal dynamic range and a higher sensitivity for weakly expressed transcripts. We have compared a representative set of AB1700 data with a similarly representative Affymetrix HG-U133A dataset. The AB1700 design extends the signal dynamic detection range at the lower bound by one order of magnitude. The lognormal signal distribution profiles of these high-sensitivity data need to be represented by two independent distributions. The additional second distribution covers those transcripts that would have gone undetected using the Affymetrix technology. The signal-dependent variance distribution in the AB1700 data is a non-trivial function of signal intensity, describable using a composite function. The drastically different structure of these high-sensitivity transcriptome profiles requires adaptation or even redevelopment of the standard microarray analysis methods. Based on the statistical properties, we have derived a signal variance distribution model for AB1700 data that is necessary for such development. Interestingly, the dual lognormal distribution observed in the AB1700 data reflects two fundamentally different biologic mechanisms of transcription initiation.
authors.affiliation: Systems Epigenomics Group, Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques/Institut de Recherches Interdisciplinaires, CNRS/INSERM, 91440 Bures sur Yvette, France.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Noth
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brysbaert
authors.forename: François-Xavier
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Pellay
authors.forename: Arndt
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benecke
mesh_terms: D002843:Chromatin / Q000378:metabolism; D015894:Genome, Human; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin