Functional genomic approaches for the study of fetal/placental development in swine with special emphasis on imprinted genes.

This chapter describes the application of functional genomic approaches to the study of imprinted genes in swine. While there are varied definitions of "functional genomics", in general they focus on the application of DNA microarrays, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays, and other high coverage genomic analyses, and their combination with downstream methods of gene modification such as silencing RNA (siRNA) and viral and non-viral transfection. Between the initial data acquisition and the actual genetic manipulation of the system lies bioinformatics, where massive amounts of data are analyzed to extract meaningful information. This area is in constant flux with an increased emphasis on detection of affected pathways and processes rather than generation of simple affected gene lists. We will expand on each of these points and describe how we have used these technologies for the study of imprinted genes in swine. First we will introduce the biological question to provide context for the discussion of the functional genomic approaches and the types of information they generate.