Purchase of an Oligonucleotide-Based Microarray System

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This award provides funds to aid in purchase of an oligonucleotide microarray system together with computer equipment and software that will aid in analysis of data obtained with microarrays. Equipment of this type can be used to determine the rate of expression of selected genes in an organism, or even that of all genes if the sequence of the organism's genome is known. The equipment will be shared by seven faculty and by their students and research associates. Of the seven, five will use the GeneChip technology to study plant development and pathogenesis using the arabidopsis model, one will use it for studies of the mouse, and one will develop improved informatics tools for analysis of microarray data. The equipment will be placed in a core facility that will allow its use by faculty other than the seven mentioned in the proposal, as well as its use in advanced courses for students.The analysis of global patterns of gene expression made possible by use of microarrays can be used to identify genes associated with developmental stages, different tissues, response to environmental stimuli or to infection. Such studies facilitate the assignment of function to uncharacterized genes, and will lead to the identification of the regulatory networks responsible for normal and altered control of growth and differentiation.