Agilent Technologies Microarrays Enable Baylor Researchers to Discover a Mechanism of Genomic “Errors” Associated with Certain Diseases

Microarrays Provided Custom Design Capabilities, Sensitivity and Resolution, Enabling Researchers to Uncover How Genomic Copy Number Changes or Translocations Occur During Cell Division

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 16, 2008 -- Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, Texas, have, for the first time, observed a unique way that DNA additions or deletions associated with a wide range of diseases are introduced in genes during cell division. Their findings are published in the current issue of the journal Cell. These types of “errors” have been associated with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Potocki-Lupski Syndrome and other developmental and neurological disorders.

Custom Agilent oligonucleotide comparative genomic hybridization microarrays played a key role in the discovery.

The article, “A DNA Replication Mechanism for Generating Nonrecurrent Rearrangements Associated with Genomic Disorders,” describes a newly discovered mechanism for human genomic disorders called replication Fork Stalling and Template Switching (FoSTes) in which segments of DNA are added or deleted in previously unexpected locations during replication.

“We’re very pleased to provide tools with the flexibility, sensitivity and resolution to enable this breakthrough research,” said Condie Carmack, Ph.D., marketing manager, Agilent. “The Baylor team needed total control over the sequences on their microarrays as well as very high sensitivity and precision to make this research work. Our SurePrint in-situ synthesis platform is particularly well-suited for this type of work.”

“The Agilent microarrays were essential in enabling us to elucidate this novel mechanism,” said BCM’s James R. Lupski, M.D., Ph.D., Cullen Professor of Molecular and Human Genetics, the senior investigator of this report.

When a DNA addition or deletion occurs in the wrong place, a genomic-based disorder like Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD) can occur. PMD is a progressive degenerative disorder of the central nervous system in which motor abilities and intellectual function deteriorate. This X-linked neurodevelopment disorder affects males and can have particularly devastating consequences.

Jennifer Lee, Ph.D., the lead author and a member of the team, was studying PMD and found genomic changes that previous theories about DNA recombination did not explain. In some places, extra genetic material was found in the middle of another duplication. Baylor’s FoSTeS mechanism explains this, Lupski points out.

Lupski pioneered the emerging field of copy number variation (CNV) in the early 1990s in the quest to understand genetic variation and the multiple molecular mechanism for disease. Now, he and his colleagues have discovered that the DNA replication process can stall, and sometimes, switch to a different “template” rather than restarting in the same place. In addition to disease research, Lupski says the FoSTeS mechanism could also play an important role in studies probing human evolution.

More information about Agilent’s genomics tools is available at www.opengenomics.com .

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A) is the world’s premier measurement company and a technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company’s 19,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenues of $5.4 billion in fiscal 2007.  Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com .


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NOTE TO EDITORS: The journal name “Cell” in the first paragraph and the term “in-situ” in the fourth paragraph should be italicized.

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Press release URL: http://www.agilent.com/about/newsroom/presrel/2008/16jan-ca08001.html

Additional metadata keywords (for Web use only): microarrays, Baylor, genomics, disease research, copy number changes

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EDITORIAL CONTACTS:

Claudia Hachtel, Agilent Technologies             Nicki Muir, Alto Marketing
+49-7243-602 100                                                 +44-1489-55 76 72
claudia_hachtel@agilent.com                             nickim@alto-marketing.com

Sarah Perceval, Alto Marketing
+44-1489-55 76 72
sarahp@alto-marketing.com