Research article

An integrated approach for the systematic identification and characterization of heart-enriched genes with unknown functions

Shizuka Uchida^{* 1} , André Schneider^{* 1} , Marion Wiesnet¹ , Benno Jungblut¹ , Polina Zarjitskaya¹ , Katharina Jenniches¹ , Karsten grosse Kreymborg^1,2 , Werner Seeger^1,2 and Thomas Braun¹

¹Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Parkstr. 1, 61231 Bad Nauheim, Germany

²University of Giessen Lung Center (UGLC), Medical Clinic II and V, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Klinikstrasse 36, 35392 Giessen, Germany

author email corresponding author email* Contributed equally

BMC Genomics 2009, 10:100doi:10.1186/1471-2164-10-100

Published:	6 March 2009

Abstract

Background

High throughput techniques have generated a huge set of biological data, which are deposited in various databases. Efficient exploitation of these databases is often hampered by a lack of appropriate tools, which allow easy and reliable identification of genes that miss functional characterization but are correlated with specific biological conditions (e.g. organotypic expression).

Results

We have developed a simple algorithm (DGSA = Database-dependent Gene Selection and Analysis) to identify genes with unknown functions involved in organ development concentrating on the heart. Using our approach, we identified a large number of yet uncharacterized genes, which are expressed during heart development. An initial functional characterization of genes by loss-of-function analysis employing morpholino injections into zebrafish embryos disclosed severe developmental defects indicating a decisive function of selected genes for developmental processes.

Conclusion

We conclude that DGSA is a versatile tool for database mining allowing efficient selection of uncharacterized genes for functional analysis.