Using combinatorial design to study regulation by multiple input signals.A tool for parsimony in the post-genomics era

摘要

For many systems in biology, genes, pathways, or metabolites are regulated or synthesized in response to multiple "input" signals. Herein, we describe how combinatorial design can be used to define a small set of experiments that will effectively explore the effects of all possible combinations of multiple inputs on such regulation. Historically, understanding how a single signal (e.g. hormone) might potentially regulate a specific gene or the synthesis of a metabolite has been a daunting task that has required molecular biology, genetics, and cell biology. The new challenge in the post-genomics era is to understand how whole genomes or metabolomes respond not only to single signals, but also to collections of potentially interacting inputs.