Assessment of a systematic expression profiling approach in ENU-induced mouse mutant lines.

Comparative genomewide expression profiling is a powerful tool in the effort to annotate the mouse genome with biological function. The systematic analysis of RNA expression data of mouse lines from the Munich ENU mutagenesis screen might support the understanding of the molecular biology of such mutants and provide new insights into mammalian gene function. In a direct comparison of DNA microarray experiments of individual versus pooled RNA samples of organs from ENU-induced mouse mutants, we provide evidence that individual RNA samples may outperform pools in some aspects.

Specificity assessment from fractionation experiments (SAFE): a novel method to evaluate microarray probe specificity based on hybridisation stringencies.

The cDNA-chip technology is a highly versatile tool for the comprehensive analysis of gene expression at the transcript level. Although it has been applied successfully in expression profiling projects, there is an ongoing dispute concerning the quality of such expression data. The latter critically depends on the specificity of hybridisation.