芯片技術(shù)的發(fā)展使得我們對(duì)不同發(fā)育階段的基因表達(dá)情況可以作出分析與判斷,。海鞘類動(dòng)物是傳統(tǒng)發(fā)育學(xué)上研究發(fā)育階段的對(duì)象。如果我們把芯片技術(shù)應(yīng)用到對(duì)海鞘類動(dòng)物發(fā)育過(guò)程中遺傳,、代謝網(wǎng)絡(luò)的研究上來(lái),，是不是會(huì)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.