| Introduction | ||
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»Introduction
Materials & Methods
Results
Discussion
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 Picture taken from http://www.wormbook.org/chapters/www_germlinegenomics/germlinegenomicsfig1.jpg.
The technology of microarrays is giving scientists the opportunity
to study gene expression at the organismal level. The National Center
for Biotechnology Information describes gene control as a "tightly
regulated process that allows a cell to respond dynamically to both
environmental stimuli and its own changing needs." Microarray technology
make use of the ability of mRNA to hybridize to its cDNA template . Because of this
there must be ample levels of mRNA transcript for the gene of interest,
and there must be a large deviation from background levels. Microarrays
are now allowing scientists to identify specific genes of interest,
with further study using traditional molecular biology technique.
The proteins responsible for controlling genes are called
transcription factors, which bind to the DNA and either activate a gene
(enhancers) or deactivate it (repressors). Mutations in transcription
factors can lead to disease or cancer depending on location and type of
the mutation.
Dr. Slekar's lab at James Madison University is studying two transcription factors
(ZMS1 and ZMS2) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
(yeast), a
model organism for higher eukaryotes, that when knocked-out cause the cells to do poorly in the presence of reactive oxygen
species and require methionine from the environment . Based on this
information, Dr. Slekar believes the transcription factors to be
involved with the cell response to oxidative stress. Using her
prediction we hypothesize that genes involved in the cell's oxidative
stress response will be down regulated in the knock-out mutants (ΔZMS1
and ΔZMS1/ΔZMS2). By studying these mutants in yeast, hopefully human pathologies such as cancer,
neurodegenerative disease, and cardiovascular disease will be better
understood. Data will be collected using methods provided by the
Genome Consortium for Active Teaching and analyzed using MagicTool.
Recent literature has used microarrays to clarify the regulation of
a heat-shock transcription factor (Singh, 2009). By using microarrays
and a yeast two hybrid screen, the researchers were able to determine
that the Nuclear Factor 1 family interacted with CGGBP1 and HMGN1, which
helped NFIX find the promoter of interest. This research helps show the
powerful diagnostic abilities of this technology, as scientist were able
to see multiple gene regulations, but it should be understood that microarrays are not meant to be stand alone. Instead, microarrays should
be used as a starting point when investigating a system, and data
collected should be supported by additional tests such as RT-PCR or
hybrid screens. Microarrays are changing our understanding of gene
expression and give the future a quick and simple means of determining
how individuals genes play a role in development and disease.
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