title: DNA chip analysis in diverse organisms with unsequenced genomes.
abstract: Whether for basic research or biotechnology, DNA microarrays have become indispensable tools for studying the transcriptome. Normally, analyses begin with a set of known cDNA sequences to prepare microarray chips specific for a target organism with an extensively sequenced and annotated genome. For many organisms, however, genome programs are not complete or have not been initiated. The present study demonstrates that, whether using homologous or heterologous arrays, the chances of seeing interesting differences are similar. When a specific DNA microarray is not available, the results indicate that a reverse approach based on a heterologous array can be used to probe for interesting differences in gene expression. This may be sufficient in many studies but, if necessary, the genes exhibiting the most significant changes subsequently could be identified by traditional molecular approaches. Such a reverse strategy can provide a convenient and inexpensive approach to probe for significant genetic changes in many diverse studies, to monitor or mine critical biological information for basic or applied research, long before complete sequence data are available.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada. rnnazar@uoguelph.ca
authors.forename: Ross N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Nazar
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Doug
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dean
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Robb
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods*; D015894:Genome, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D018745:Genome, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000235:genetics*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D004247:DNA