DACS (Discriminative Analysis of Clone Signatures) cuts cost of creating improved genomic resources and simplifies gene expression analysisGrenoble, France, October 23, 2002 - GENOME express, the developer of high value-added solutions for functional genomics and target discovery and validation, announces today the availability of its new proprietary technology, DACS.
The first application of this innovative technology is GE-DACSTM (Gene Expression DACS). GE-DACSTM eliminates bottlenecks in the discovery process of genes expressed in tissue or in a cell. Unlike existing processes, which are both complicated and costly, DACS reduces the expense and time needed to generate resources and information for the expression analysis of these genes. These resources are mainly PCR products that are "ready-to-spot" for an analysis tool such as micro-arrays. Micro-arrays have become an essential tool in the study of complex diseases such as diabetes, cancer and obesity.
DACS thus provides a significant breakthrough compared with other processes such as SAGE1. DACS not only speeds up the discovery process but also facilitates expression analysis without the need to access data relating to the organism in question (genomic sequence or EST2 sequences).
Furthermore, as it is built on the generation of complementary DNA clones, DACS ensures these biological resources are kept intact, and a link to the information produced is established for each clone. If, during the discovery process, researchers suspect the implication of a particular gene in a disease, they can access the initial biological resource and begin an in-depth analysis.
The simplicity of the process means that for the first time, experiments can be reproduced with ease. This is crucial for differential expression analysis, for example gene expression in a normal cell compared to a cancerous cell.
While the first application of DACS is for the study of gene expression, this technology developed by GENOME express can be applied far more widely for use in genomics. Examples include genome sequencing finishing and structural differential genome analysis.
"GE-DACSTM enriches our technology portfolio with the addition of high-throughput differential expression analysis," said Yves Laurent, CEO of GENOME express. "DACS is proof of GENOME express' ability to develop innovative proprietary tools linking molecular biology to bioinformatics."
1 — SAGE - Serial Analysis of Gene Expression
2 — EST - Expressed Sequence Tag
About DACS
DACS (Discriminative Analysis of Clone Signature) is the new proprietary technology provided by GENOME express. The technology, based on EST sequencing reduces cost while offering the same advantages. DACS marks only one nucleotide of the four composing DNA — A, C, G, T — and includes a capillary multiplex sequencing thus offering high-throughput (1536 samples per run). A patented signal analysis technology applied on sequencing results discriminates identical clones from the different ones, thus allowing the discovery of genes expressed.
For further information: http://www.genomex.com
About GENOME express
GENOME express, Grenoble, France, develops and markets high value-added solutions for functional genomics. The company offers a unique platform that integrates proprietary tools for genomics (discovery and identification of SNPs — Syn-QuenceTM), transcriptomics (gene expression analysis), and proteomics (identification of proteins using genome mapping of mass spectrometry data — Pep MapTM). Building on its success and experience as a service provider, GENOME express is currently making its platform accessible to private sector researchers and academics in the biopharmaceutical sector. This will be done through partnerships and enable GENOME express customers to outsource their R&D projects either in part or totally. The company is also developing its own research to discover new targets for therapeutic or diagnostic applications in the fields of metabolic diseases such as diabetes or obesity, the central nervous system and bacterial genomics.
For further information: http://www.genomex.com
Source: Genome Express
