Slide 15
Microarrays Come In Many Models
There are some standard microarrays for use in cancer research, such as the Lymphochip. Standard arrays include genes that have been reported as important in a certain type of cancer. Other arrays contain strands of DNA called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs ("snips"), which are common variations in DNA. Researchers also can create their own microarrays using whatever genes (or gene fragments) they think might be important to the questions they are trying to answer.
Single nucleotide polymorphism testing: These tests evaluate large numbers of variations (single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs) across a person’s entire genome. The results are compared with those of others who have taken the tests to provide an estimate of a person’s ethnic background. For example, the pattern of SNPs might indicate that a person’s ancestry is approximately 50 percent African, 25 percent European, 20 percent Asian, and 5 percent unknown. Genealogists use this type of test because Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA test results, which represent only single ancestral lines, do not capture the overall ethnic background of an individual.
