Genomics Research Group Studies on Transcriptome Analysis by Microarrays and NGS.

Global transcriptome analysis is of growing importance in understanding how altered expression of genetic variants contributes to complex diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease and the adverse effects of environmental pollutants on living organisms. The Genomics Research Group presentation is intended to describe the current activities of the group in applying the latest tools and technologies for transcriptome analysis in order to determine the advantages and disadvantages of each of the platforms and the suitability of the different platforms for the different studies. We have specifically evaluated microarrays, QPCR and NGS platforms for examining the sensitivity and specificity of microRNA detection using synthetic miRNA standards. We have also used low input RNA from Asian Oysters to decipher their transcriptome and study the effect of PAHs and oxygen on them using next generation sequencing technology. We will discuss in detail the technical challenges and the results obtained from each of these projects.