Gene Expression Profiling

Abstract

AbstractDNA microarray technology, developed in the late 1990s, is fast becoming a standard tool for gene expression analysis. Many of the initial plant genome sequencing projects are providing large sets of expressed sequence tag (EST) or full length complementary DNA (cDNA) clones and printed microarrays to the public for use in gene expression studies. With the completion of sequencing theArabidopsisgenome, biologists are studying gene expression patterns on a genome‐wide scale. Also taking advantage of the rapid availability of sequence data, oligonucleotide arrays or sets of oligos suitable for in‐house arraying, are now available from commercial entities. Here we provide a basic outline of gene expression profiling in plants using DNA microarrays, discuss ESTs and oligonucleotides, probe synthesis and data analysis, as well as public resources for array information. In addition, we provide a brief summary of alternatives to array‐based expression profiling, the advantages and uses of ESTs databases and large EST data sets.