Application of bioinformatics for DNA microarray data to bioscience, bioengineering and medical fields

Abstract

In the 1990s, DNA microarray or DNA chip as a novel biological experimental technology was developed, which enables the comprehensive measurement of the expression levels of hundreds of genes, simultaneously. Using this technique, a comprehensive understanding of the cell can be achieved. However, because even simple life forms, such as microorganisms, have more than a thousand kinds of genes, the data from a DNA chip cannot be analyzed without statistical and informational technology. Bioinformatics is the interdisciplinary research field integrating molecular biology with informatics, and it is expected to have a huge impact on the bioscientific, bioengineering and medical fields. There are many techniques in bioinformatics for the analysis of DNA microarray data; however, these are mainly divided into fold-change analysis, clustering, classification, genetic network analysis, and simulation. In this review, these techniques are briefly explained by using some examples.