| METHOD |
uses metabolomics to uncover gene functions. Because there are many fewer metabolites than genes or proteins, they don't have the same type of direct link to the genome that messenger RNA and proteins do. Oliver uses a method that he calls FANCY, for functional analysis by co-responses in yeast. In FANCY, genes of known function are used to uncover the function of unknown genes. It is based on the idea that if two mutants--one with a deleted gene of known function and the other with a deleted gene of unknown function--show similar responses in their metabolic profiles, the two genes must act on the same pathway. Oliver demonstrated the principle with separate deletions of the yeast genes PFK26 and PFK27, which encode the same enzyme, 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase. He showed that the deletions resulted in similar changes in the metabolomic profile. Extending the method to genes with unknown functions requires cluster analysis of the data from a comprehensive method such as infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, or NMR spectroscopy. |
| UPDATE | 12.02 |
| AUTHOR | Stephen G. Oliver, a professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Manchester, in England |
| LITERATURE REF. | This data is not available for free |
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