Statistical evaluation of transcriptomic data generated using the Affymetrix one-cycle, two-cycle and IVT-Express RNA labelling protocols with the Arabidopsis ATH1 microarray.

Background: Microarrays are a powerful tool used for the determination of global RNA expression. There is an increasing requirement to focus on profiling gene expression in tissues where it is difficult to obtain large quantities of material, for example individual tissues within organs such as the root, or individual isolated cells. From such samples, it is difficult to produce the amount of RNA required for labelling and hybridisation in microarray experiments, thus a process of amplification is usually adopted.