Enhanced microarray performance using low complexity representations of the transcriptome.

Low abundance mRNAs are more difficult to examine using microarrays than high abundance mRNAs due to the effect of concentration on hybridization kinetics and signal-to-noise ratios. This report describes the use of low complexity representations (LCRs) of mRNA as the targets for cDNA microarrays. Individual sequences in LCRs are more highly represented than in the mRNA populations from which they are derived, leading to favorable hybridization kinetics.