Functional exploration of the C. elegans genome using DNA microarrays.

Global changes in gene expression underlie developmental processes such as organogenesis, embryogenesis and aging in Caenorhabditis elegans. Recently developed methods allow gene expression profiles to be determined selectively for individual tissues and cell types. Results from both whole-animal and tissue-specific expression profiling have provided an unprecedented view into genome organization and gene function. Integration of these results with other types of functional genomics data gathered from RNA-mediated interference and yeast two-hybrid analyses will allow rapid identification and exploration of the complex functional gene networks that govern C. elegans development.