Hybridization, a process by which two complementary DNA strands match by sequence specific base-pairing and form a double- stranded DNA complex, has become a fundamental tool of genomics as it permits the usage of DNA molecules themselves as the perfect reagent to identify particular DNA sequences. Recently, microarrays have allowed many such hybridization experiments to proceed concurrently, thus promising high throughput. In this talk, we shall explore various limitations of this technology due to several error sources (noisy signal detection, imperfect base-pairing, non-specific hybridization, etc.) and suggest ways to overcome them via algorithmic and statistical means. In particular, we shall focus on two specific applications: 1) rapid detection of gene amplifications (involving oncogenes) and gene deletion (involving tumor suppressor genes) in cancerous tumor cells, 2) Rapid contiging of a BAC library using low-complexity probes. (Jointly with CSHL's Wigler-Lab [Lucito, West, Reiner, Wigler et al.], Sloan-Kettering's Norton-Lab and CIMS's Will Casey.)
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