芯片技術(shù)的發(fā)展使得我們對不同發(fā)育階段的基因表達情況可以作出分析與判斷,。海鞘類動物是傳統(tǒng)發(fā)育學上研究發(fā)育階段的對象,。如果我們把芯片技術(shù)應用到對海鞘類動物發(fā)育過程中遺傳、代謝網(wǎng)絡(luò)的研究上來,，是不是會得到有趣的結(jié)果呢,？

Molecular analysis of development has traditionally involved studies of one or a few genes at a time. This approach has revealed powerful regulatory genes, which have become the foundation for understanding pattern formation during metazoan development. But with one notable exception [1], the detailed genetic networks in which developmental genes function have remained elusive. Researchers working on the development of several model organisms are now breaking the single-gene tradition by using expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis to identify random cDNA clones from libraries derived from different stages and tissue types, and high-throughput in situ hybridization to categorize the corresponding mRNAs by their expression domains. In concert with antisense-mediated inhibition of gene expression and other molecular tools of developmental biology, EST analysis and other methods of gene-expression profiling can shed new light on the genetic circuitry underlying developmental processes. Here, I review recent gene expression-profile analysis in ascidians and the promise of this approach for studying developmental gene networks.