Using DNA microarrays to study gene expression in closely related species

作者：Oshlack Alicia^*; Chabot Adrien E; Smyth Gordon K; Gilad Yoav

来源：Bioinformatics, 2007, 23(10): 1235-1242.

DOI：10.1093/bioinformatics/btm111

Motivation: Comparisons of gene expression levels within and between species have become a central tool in the study of the genetic basis for phenotypic variation, as well as in the study of the evolution of gene regulation. DNA microarrays are a key technology that enables these studies. Currently, however, microarrays are only available for a small number of species. Thus, in order to study gene expression levels in species for which microarrays are not available, researchers face three sets of choices: (i) use a microarray designed for another species, but only compare gene expression levels within species, (ii) construct a new microarray for every species whose gene expression profiles will be compared or (iii) build a multispecies microarray with probes from each species of interest. Here, we use data collected using a multi-primate cDNA array to evaluate the reliability of each approach.
Results: We find that, for inter-species comparisons, estimates of expression differences based on multi-species microarrays are more accurate than those based on multiple species-specific arrays. We also demonstrate that within-species expression differences can be estimated using a microarray for a closely related species, without discernible loss of information.

• 出版日期2007-5-15
• 单位河北医科大学