Discovering New Genes Using DNA Microarray
Crawling through the genome base-by-base to find new genes is a painstaking process. One of the latest technologies to speed things up is DNA microarray. Basically, DNA is chopped up into pieces and put onto a glass slide, then the slide is exposed to RNA with the sequence of interest. Whichever DNA piece on the slide “lights up” the most is the one that is active and deserving of more attention. (Apologies to those who think I oversimplified. See end of post for a more detailed definition.)
DNA microarray was used to screen DNA from 53 tumors and breast cancer cells which led to the discovery of four new candidate genes for breast cancer on chromosome 8, FLJ14299, C8orf2, BRF2 and RAB11FIP. (Medical News Today, August 8, 2005)
Lead researcher, Professor Carlos Caldas, based at the Department of Oncology and the Hutchison/MRC Research Centre at the University of Cambridge, says: “Scientists have been trying to pinpoint the genes on chromosome eight involved in breast cancer development for the last two decades and DNA microarrays have allowed us to greatly accelerate the search. Hopefully this cutting edge technology will trigger a parallel increase in the speed at which new cancer treatments reach the patient. Early indications are that tumours with multiple copies of these genes are more aggressive. If this is confirmed it might provide a lead for targeted therapies in these cases.”
Having to spend less time finding genes means more time can be devoted to figuring out how the genes work and how to manipulate them for the benefit of our health.
*From JigCell,
DNA microarray: An experimental tool for obtaining high-throughput gene expression data. At each position in an array of locations on a glass slide is spotted a sample of identical DNA molecules (a “probe”) whose sequence is complementary to a messenger RNA sequence uniquely determined by a specific gene of a particular organism. A sample of messenger RNA sequences from the cells or tissues of the organism are hybridized to the probes, and the amount of RNA that binds to each probe is measured. By comparing a treated sample to a control sample, one can quantify which genes are expressed a great deal more or a great deal less in the treated sample relative to the control.
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4 opinions for Discovering New Genes Using DNA Microarray
» E-Mail Technology Used to Analyze DNA Data Genetics and Health
Dec 8, 2005 at 9:45 pm
[…] Using the check-sum protocol, it’s possible to monitor more closely time-series data from DNA microarrays of genes turning on and off. Generally, when biological pathways such as cell division or immune system responses are being studied, there is some loss of information between sequential “snapshots” of the microarray. […]
Kobayashi
Dec 10, 2005 at 6:49 am
I must say checksum is not a copmplicated method compared ones we study at computer science. When i read this post i realize that there are huge opornuties to work on genetics as computer engineer. But i must say, we learned check-sum in network lessons not related to E-Mail. This is new for me.
Hsien Hsien Lei, PhD
Dec 10, 2005 at 7:59 am
Thanks for your comment, Kobayashi. For a non-computer scientist like me, check-sum is plenty complicated enough! But I do agree that computer applications to genomic problems is going to be increasingly important as the amount of data grows exponentially.
» 570 Genes for Parkinson’s Disease Genetics and Health
Dec 19, 2005 at 8:48 am
[…] Researchers at Imperial College London and the University of Liege, Belgium, used DNA microarrays to analyze 23 brains from recently deceased patients - 15 with Parkinson’s and 8 without. They screened 25,000 human genes and found that 570 were highly abnormal in Parkinsons brains. Now they’ll have to comb through the 570 genes and figure out which ones have significant functional roles in the etiology of Parkinson’s disease. Good luck! […]
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