Detecting variants with Metabolic Design, a new software tool to design probes for explorative functional DNA microarray develop

Background: Microorganisms display vast diversity, and each one has its own set of genes, cell components and metabolic reactions. To assess their huge unexploited metabolic potential in different ecosystems, we need high throughput tools, such as functional microarrays, that allow the simultaneous analysis of thousands of genes. However, most classical functional microarrays use specific probes that monitor only known sequences, and so fail to cover the full microbial gene diversity present in complex environments. We have thus developed an algorithm, implemented in the user-friendly program Metabolic Design, to design efficient explorative probes. Results: First we have validated our approach by studying eight enzymes involved in the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from the model strain Sphingomonas paucimobilis sp. EPA505 using a designed microarray of 8,048 probes. As expected, microarray assays identified the targeted set of genes induced during biodegradation kin...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: BMCBI
• Authors: Sébastien Terrat, Eric Peyretaillade, Olivier Gonçalves, Eric Dugat-Bony, Fabrice Gravelat, Anne Moné, Corinne Biderre-Petit, Delphine Boucher, Julien Troquet, Pierre Peyret
• Keywords: Aromatic Hydrocarbon, BMCBI 2010, Metabolic, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon