|
»Page 1: Microarrays as a Gene Expression Tool
Page 2: Microarray vs. Macroarrays
Page 3: Microarray Nomenclature
Page 4: Design of Microarray Experiments
Page 5: References
Microarrays as a Gene Expression Tool
Gene expression tools in molecular biology have changed significantly
from the days of analyzing one gene or gene pathway at a time to
the evaluation of gene expression at the level of the whole genome
using microarrays. Like Northern and Southern analysis, microarrays
allow relative quantitation of gene expression. Similar to Northerns,
microarrays require the immobilization of nucleic acids on a solid
support, and the subsequent binding of sequences complementary
to these nucleic acids to measure gene expression levels. However,
microarrays differ from their predecessors in the following features:
- Northerns and Southerns are limited to the study of a single
or a few genes at a time, while microarrays allow the analysis
of hundreds or thousands of genes with the possibility of obtaining
complete genome expression in a single experiment.
- Northern membranes immobilize the “unknown” biological
sample being studied (target) on the solid support, while with
microarrays the “known” sequence (probe) for a gene
is bound to the support.
[Next...]
|
