Multiplex Gene Expression Analysis by TRAC in Fungal Cultures

For an increasing number of microorganisms of scientific and industrial interest, the genome sequences have become available, which in turn has enabled genome-wide microarray studies. Global level transcriptomic analysis has flooded the research community with gene expression data from diverse biological states. One of the key aspects of this research is that in many cases the analysis of thousands of genes leads to the discovery of significantly smaller sets of genes, from a few to a few hundred, which provide the essential information about biological systems of interest. As a consequence, the requirement for technologies enabling rapid, cost-effective and quantitative detection of specific gene transcripts has increased. A method named TRAC (Transcript analysis with aid of affinity capture) is a novel solution hybridization and bead-based assay enabling multiplex mRNA target detection simultaneously from large sample numbers. Functionality of TRAC has been shown in a number of applications including microbial quantification and gene expression-based monitoring of biotechnical processes as well as cell-based cancer marker gene screening and siRNA validation.