Agilent Technologies Introduces New Human Gene-Expression Microarray

LincRNAs are believed to be important regulators of gene expression, playing a role in embryonic development and other cellular processes. Functional analysis of individual lincRNAs has proved challenging for researchers but recent advances in sequencing and computational methods have improved analytic capabilities in the field.

We've just begun to scratch the surface of how lincRNAs control a host of processes in the body, from fat development to tumor growth, said Moran N. Cabili, a researcher at the Broad Institute and co-author of the article introducing the human lincRNA reference catalog. This collaboration with Agilent, which draws on the most comprehensive database of lincRNAs created to date, will be instrumental in speeding the discovery process.

The SurePrint G3 Human Gene Expression Microarray is the most up-to-date product available in the emerging field of lincRNA research, said Kathleen Shelton, senior director, Genomics at Agilent. We are pleased to collaborate with the renowned Broad Institute to develop cutting-edge probes that will advance the study of how lincRNAs function in gene regulation.

Cabili will present a free webinar, hosted by Agilent, titled Finding the missing lincs of the transcriptome, on June 6 at 8 a.m. PDT. Topics to be covered during the webinar include the characterization of lincRNAs, expression patterns of lincRNAs in specific tissues compared to coding gene expression, and the potential roles of transcripts of uncertain coding potential.

The SurePrint G3 Human Gene Expression v2 Microarray is part of a highly sensitive microarray platform with the widest dynamic range (over five orders of magnitude), designed to detect low and high expressors. The new microarray system has fully customizable content, allowing researchers to design microarrays relevant to their experiment.

In addition to the newly available probes, the SurePrint G3 Human Gene Expression v2 Microarray includes an update of the latest mRNA content from the National Center for Biotechnology Information RefSeq gene database.