10. Microarrays

Question 1

What are the advantages of mycorarrays?

Answer 1

1. Microarrays (chips) have very small dimensions and are producted by using very small amounts of genetic material
2. Each array can include a whole expression library (from 2500 spots/cm2 to 250.000 spots/cm2)
3. It is possible to perform several screenings on the same array
4. It is possible to identify genes with very low levels of expression

Question 2

What are the disadvantages of microarrays?

Answer 2

1. This technique is very expensive. To overcome this disadvantage several custom chips have been designed even in fruit tree species
2. Experimental results should be validated by PCR Real-Time (even by random tests on a sub pool of “positives”)