Microarrays: Functional Genomic Approaches to Mammalian Development

摘要

Development and cellular differentiation involve tightly regulated pathways entailing the coordination of large numbers of genes; complex genetic signaling networks which remain largely terra Incognito. Microarrays provide a tool for the large-scale identification of genes which contribute to development processes. Furthermore, a temporal map of developmental gene expression furnishes a platform for the determination of functional relationships or interactions between these genes, and possibly the elucidation of controlling or organizing forces regulating development. To these ends we have measured the temporal expression patterns of over 18,000 genes during the embryonic development of the mouse eye with cDNA microarrays. We have observed staged-expression patterns which may reveal functional relationships among the genes studied. Such analyses will be important in elucidating the roles that changes in gene expression play in the transition from undifferentiated to highly complex tissues, and may contribute to the understanding of development disorders.