Array of hope
The DNA microarray technology allows scientists to watch an organism-wide response to dna damage. The technology is reshaping molecular biology and greatly helping in the research conducted by the Environmental Genome Project and the National Centre for Toxicogenomics in the US. Traditional methods in molecular biology generally analyse one gene in one experiment. The picture that emerges is limited. The complete picture of gene function is hard to obtain. DNA microarray, on the other hand, monitors the whole genome on a single chip so that researchers can have a better picture of the interactions among thousands of genes simultaneously. An experiment with a single DNA chip can provide researchers information on thousands of genes simultaneously - a dramatic increase in the output when compared to earlier techniques.
An example of the dramatic results of the microarray-based research is the result of a study done by Harvard's Kresege Centre for Environmental Health, based in us . The study was brought out for the first time how exposure to a chemical changed about one-third of the yeast genome or about 2000 genes. The revelations were path breaking. It was earlier believed that only DNA repair genes were damaged by the presence of the particular chemical