Gene Expression Profiling and de novo Transcriptome Sequencing using Geneballs

该项目的目的是证明基于珠状核的技术可以用于目前需要DNA杂交的应用，以克服微阵列技术的现有缺陷。通过提供快速有效地生产、筛选和利用几乎无限大小的生物分子库的能力，这项技术为解锁基因组学和蛋白质组学在现实世界中的应用提供了关键。该项目有两个方面。首先，相对较小的定向cDNA头文库将与已知的低密度cDNA微阵列进行比较，以验证该技术在基因表达谱中的实用性。其次，包含短寡核苷酸序列的大型文库将用于完整转录组的从头测序。无论哪种情况，概念验证都将为许多基因组应用铺平道路，并使这项技术成为“重磅炸弹”。

The purpose of the project is to demonstrate that bead-based technology can be used in applications that currently require DNA hybridisation in order to overcome existing deficiencies in microarray technology. By providing the capability to quickly and efficiently produce, screen and utilize biomolecule libraries of nearly unlimited size, this technology provides the key to unlock the power of genomics and proteomics for use in real world applications. The project has two aspects. First, relatively small directed cDNA-bead libraries will be compared to known low-density cDNA microarrays to validate the technique for utility in gene expression profiling. Secondly, large libraries containing short oligonucleotide sequences will be used for de novo sequencing of a complete transcriptome. Proof-of-concept in either case will pave the way for many genomic applications and catapult the technology to 'blockbuster' status.