Exploring the foundation of genomics: a Northern blot reference set for the comparative analysis of transcript profiling technologies
2004

Reference Data Collection for Northern Blot Results

Sample size: 619 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Danielle Kemmer, Margareta Faxen, Emily Hodges, Jonathan Lim, Elena Herzog, Elsebrit Ljungstrom, Anders Lundmark, Mary K. Olsen, Raf Podowski, Erik L. L. Sonnhammer, Peter Nilsson, Mark Reimers, Boris Lenhard, Steven L. Roberds, Claes Wahlestedt, Christer Hoog, Pankaj Agarwal, Wyeth W. Wasserman

Primary Institution: Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Hypothesis

Can a reference data collection of Northern blot results facilitate the comparison of modern expression profiling techniques?

Conclusion

The study found that no modern profiling method produced results strongly correlated with Northern blot data, highlighting the need for multi-technique validation.

Supporting Evidence

  • The study created a database of 619 Northern blots addressing 535 distinct genes.
  • Correlation scores between microarray platforms and Northern blots were generally low.
  • Microarrays performed better for genes with low expression levels compared to Northern blots.

Takeaway

This study created a database of Northern blot results to help scientists compare different ways of measuring gene expression, but found that none matched the traditional method very well.

Methodology

The study involved creating a database of Northern blot results and comparing them with data from various modern expression profiling techniques.

Potential Biases

The study may be biased towards genes with higher expression levels due to the nature of the Northern blot database.

Limitations

The correlation results between platforms were generally poor, indicating that the methods may not accurately reflect gene expression levels.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1002/cfg.443

Want to read the original?

Access the complete publication on the publisher's website

View Original Publication