Agilent Technologies Introduces Advanced Zebrafish, Mouse Microarrays for Stem Cell and Developmental Biology Research; Company Expands Portfolio of Model-Organism Genome Arrays Using Up-to-Date Content.PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :A) today introduced the industry's most up-to-date microarray to provide genome-wide coverage of the zebrafish (Danio da·ni·o n. pl. da·ni·os Any of various small, often brightly colored freshwater fishes of the genera Danio and Brachydanio, native to Asia and popular as aquarium fish. rerio), and the first commercial whole mouse genome microarray based on the National Institute on Aging The National Institute on Aging is a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, Maryland. Formed in 1974, NIA's mission is to improve the health and well-being of older Americans through research. It is the primary U.S. (NIA NIA National Institute on Aging (NIH) NIA National Indoor Arena (UK) NIA National Intelligence Agency (South Africa and Thailand) NIA National Institute of Accountants ) Mouse Gene Index. The zebrafish and mouse microarrays were developed in collaboration with Icoria (a member of the Toxicogenomics Consortium) and the NIA, respectively. "This is part of our concerted effort to provide a substantial portfolio of microarray-based genomic tools and solutions for key areas of research, such as stem cells stem cells, unspecialized human or animal cells that can produce mature specialized body cells and at the same time replicate themselves. Embryonic stem cells are derived from a blastocyst (the blastula typical of placental mammals; see embryo), which is very young and developmental biology Developmental biology A large field of investigation that includes the study of all changes associated with an organism as it progresses through the life cycle. The life cycles of all multicellular organisms exhibit many similarities. ," said Fran DiNuzzo, Agilent vice president and general manager, Integrated Biology Solutions, Life Sciences and Chemical Analysis. "We believe researchers should enjoy easy access to high-quality microarrays featuring current content for their model organism of choice." Combined with Agilent's integrated portfolio of reagents, hardware, informatics and catalog microarrays, these new designs expand researchers' ability to perform highly detailed genetic research, functional genomics, gene discovery and identification, pathway analysis and drug discovery and development. Model organisms allow cross-species research that can be applied to humans. Researchers can access the content of these microarrays using Agilent's eArray (earray.chem.agilent.com), a Web-based microarray design tool that allows scientists to mine the most up-to-date content of Agilent's catalog arrays and design custom arrays for their own experiments. Agilent Zebrafish Oligo Microarray The Agilent Zebrafish Oligo Microarray contains 21,495 probes representing all existing predicted zebrafish genes from the most recent public databases, such as RefSeq, Unigene and TIGR TIGR The Institute for Genomic Research TIGR Treasury Investment Growth Receipt TIGR This Is Getting Ridiculous TIGR Thermally Induced Gallium Removal TIGR TSPI Interface for GPS/RAJPO Gene Index. Each array also contains QC probes for monitoring any experimental variations. The zebrafish is a useful organism in researching gene functions related to vertebrate development and genetics. Zebrafish colonies are inexpensive to maintain and quick to reproduce, and the transparent zebrafish embryos help researchers to follow gene functions and development. "BMP (1) (BitMaP) Also known as a "bump" file, it is the native, bitmapped graphics format in Windows. A BMP can be saved in several color options: 1-, 4-, 8- and 24-bit color provide 2, 16, 256 and 16,000,000 colors respectively. BMP files use the .BMP or . (bone morphogenetic protein Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) are a group of growth factors and cytokines known for their ability to induce the formation of bone and cartilage. Types Originally, seven such proteins were discovered. ) signaling plays a critical role in early embryonic patterning in zebrafish, as in other organisms," said David Kimelman, professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington. "Our preliminary data suggests that the Agilent microarray, in combination with our transgenic fish expressing an inducible dominant-negative BMP receptor, will be useful for revealing genes that are up- and down-regulated by BMP signaling in fish embryos." "We have used the array and so far the results look very good," said Stefan Schulte-Merker, a principal investigator from Hubrecht Laboratorium, Netherlands Institute for Developmental Biology. "We have compared mutants with wild-type zebrafish larvae Larvae, in Roman religion Larvae: see lemures. , and have seen genes up- and down-regulated that we would expect to be affected. Right now we are looking at the 'novel' genes and use other methods, such as in situ hybridization in situ hybridization A method for localizing a sequence of DNA, mRNA, or protein in a cell or tissue; the use of a DNA or RNA probe to detect a cDNA sequence in chromosome spreads or in interphase nuclei or an RNA sequence of cloned bacterial or cultured , to verify the array data." Agilent Mouse Development Oligo Microarray 44K The Agilent Mouse Development Oligo Microarray 44K contains 44,041 probes representing all empirical and predicted mouse genes and transcripts from the NIA Mouse Gene Index (lgsun.grc.nia.nih.gov/geneindex4). The index contains transcript sequences derived from the NIA collection of public EST EST electroshock therapy. EST abbr. electroshock therapy libraries of stem cells and early-stage mouse embryos, making it an excellent tool for the study of stem cells and developmental biology. The index also combines genome assembly sequences from public databases such as RefSeq, Ensembl and Riken. A set of yeast "spike-in" control probes is included to provide more quantitative information on transcript expression. For detailed product information, please visit www.agilent.com/chem/dna under collaboratively-designed DNA microarray kits. About Agilent in Genomics Agilent is a leading provider of microarray-based, genomics research solutions with more than 500 customers worldwide. Agilent's end-to-end solution includes reagents for sample preparation and microarray processing; hardware for sample QC and high-throughput microarray scanning; 60-mer oligo microarrays on industry-standard 1" x 3" glass slides for gene expression; comparative genomic hybridization hybridization /hy·brid·iza·tion/ (hi?brid-i-za´shun) 1. crossbreeding; the act or process of producing hybrids. 2. molecular hybridization 3. and chromatin immunoprecipitation applications; custom microarray design services; and industry-leading GeneSpring and Rosetta software products for data analysis. About Agilent Technologies Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) is the world's premier measurement company and a technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company's 28,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenue of $7.2 billion in fiscal year 2004. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com. NOTE TO EDITORS: Press releases, photography and other information can be accessed on the Agilent Life Sciences and Chemical Analysis newsroom at www.agilent.com/about/newsroom/lsca. Further technology, corporate citizenship and executive news is available on the Agilent news site at www.agilent.com/go/news. |
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