Research article
An integrated approach for the systematic identification and characterization of heart-enriched genes with unknown functions
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* Corresponding author: Thomas Braun Thomas.Braun@mpi-bn.mpg.de
- † Equal contributors
1 Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Parkstr. 1, 61231 Bad Nauheim, Germany
2 University of Giessen Lung Center (UGLC), Medical Clinic II and V, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Klinikstrasse 36, 35392 Giessen, Germany
BMC Genomics 2009, 10:100 doi:10.1186/1471-2164-10-100
Published: 6 March 2009Abstract
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.