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The SMP-RNA will focus on the systematic and disease-driven analysis of gene expression patterns in humans and mice. It will consist of two core units, located at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg and the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetics (MPIMG) in Berlin. These core units are composed of three and two groups, respectively, whose expertise in large-scale gene expression analysis using microarrays and RNA in situ hybridization has been funded by the German Human Genome Project (DHGP) and the National Genome Research Network (NGFN).
In the SMP subprojects, systematic analyses on spatial and temporal gene expression will mainly be performed at the MPIMG, while the focus of the DKFZ subprojects will lie on the analysis of genetic networks with relevance to diseases. Systematic and disease-driven studies with different main foci, concerning the over-expression or repression certain human genes in transfected cells, will be performed at both core units.
Specific goals of the SMP-RNA are:
- Analysis of gene expression networks relevant to human disease
- Systematic analysis of spatial and temporal gene expression in development
- Technology development
- Data management, data mining, and standardization
- Validation of disease targets
A new focus of the SMP-RNA within the second funding period of the NGFN will be directed towards regulatory genomics, i.e. the systematic analysis of gene regulation and signaling networks underlying all biological processes. To achieve this aim, genes (and, with increased attention, ESTs) that are identified as differentially expressed in projects with KGs and other SMPs as well as in projects between SMP partners and non-NGFN groups will be prioritized for downstream analyses in the SMP consortium for their involvement in such processes.