These methods can be applied to particular neurons at specific developmental stages …

• Abstract
• Background
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Materials and methods
• Additional data files
• References
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Biology Articles » Methods & Techniques » Cell-specific microarray profiling experiments reveal a comprehensive picture of gene expression in the C. elegans nervous system » Conclusion

Conclusion

- Cell-specific microarray profiling experiments reveal a comprehensive picture of gene expression in the C. elegans nervous system

Approximately 9,000 C. elegans genes represented on the Affymetrix array have annotated human homologs (Additional data file 3). Roughly 5% (525) of these genes encode uncharacterized conserved proteins. Our combined microarray data have revealed that 108 of these transcripts are enriched in neurons (Additional data file 24). The high conservation of this subset of genes from nematodes to humans indicates that the encoded proteins may play pivotal roles in neuronal function or specification. Indeed, we show that approximately 80% of the members of a core group of pan-neural genes (19/25) from this list are expressed in the mammalian brain. The MAPCeL and mRNA-tagging strategies provide sufficient temporal information to pinpoint the developmental period during which a gene may function, as well as the spatial resolution to define the neuron in which it is expressed. With the powerful molecular and genetic tools available to C. elegans researchers, it should now be possible to delineate the roles of these novel targets in the nervous system.