Large scale explorative oligonucleotide probe selection for thousands of genetic groups on a computing grid: application to phylogenetic probe design using a curated small subunit ribosomal RNA gene database.

Phylogenetic Oligonucleotide Arrays (POAs) were recently adapted for studying the huge microbial communities in a flexible and easy-to-use way. POA coupled with the use of explorative probes to detect the unknown part is now one of the most powerful approaches for a better understanding of microbial community functioning. However, the selection of probes remains a very difficult task.