Discovery of Gene Function by Expression Profiling of the Malaria Parasite Life Cycle

编者按：这个文章有助于今后对更高等生物的生命周期的研究带来启示。生命活动的本质不是蛋白功能+蛋白功能，而是有机的整体，这种有机整体，高度协调统一，才能构成完整的生命，这个研究工作还将是漫长的！

Karine G. Le Roch,^1* Yingyao Zhou,² Peter L. Blair,³ Muni Grainger,⁴ J. Kathleen Moch,³ J. David Haynes,⁵ Patricia De la Vega,³ Anthony A. Holder,⁴ Serge Batalov,² Daniel J. Carucci,³ Elizabeth A. Winzeler^1,2*

The completion of the genome sequence for Plasmodium falciparum, the species responsible for most malaria human deaths, has the potential to reveal hundreds of new drug targets and proteins involved in pathogenesis. However, only 35% of the genes code for proteins with an identifiable function. The absence of routine genetic tools for studying Plasmodium parasites suggests that this number is unlikely to change quickly if conventional serial methods are used to characterize encoded proteins. Here, we use a high-density oligonucleotide array to generate expression profiles of human and mosquito stages of the malaria parasite's life cycle. Genes with highly correlated levels and temporal patterns of expression were often involved in similar functions or cellular processes.

¹ Department of Cell Biology ICND202, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
² Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, San Diego, CA 92121, USA.
³ Malaria Program, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring, MD 20910–7500, USA.
⁴ Division of Parasitology, National Institute for Medical Research, London NW7 1AA, UK.
⁵ Department of Immunology, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: winzeler@scripps.edu (E.A.W.); leroch@scripps.edu (K.G.L.)

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