The 1st Symposium of the Wellcome Trust-funded Multi-collaborative Microbial Pathogen Microarray Facility - BμGΣ 2002: 'Bacterial pathogens, microarrays and functional genomics'

Abstract

Perhaps the most significant feature of the meeting was the fact that so many people were describing experiments they had done, and the significance of the results, as well as the problems they had encountered. This contrasts with many meetings to date, where talks have mostly discussed array production and experiments that are planned. However, microarray experimental systems are an emerging and rapidly developing technology and thus still have limitations and pitfalls. This meeting set out to explore such limitations in the hope that sharing experiences in a collaborative environment would allow collective progress towards development of robust technical protocols and data analysis tools. Despite limitations, widespread availability and use of DNA microarrays in the current format for small genomes are now of undisputed biological utility. BμGΣ is an example of a functional genomics resource for multi-collaborative networks of research groups and can act as a model for functional genomics initiatives for more complex organisms (e.g. humans). The meeting showed how microarray technology can address both fundamental and applied issues in pathogen biology: from comparative genome organization through to studies on pathogenesis, virulence genes, molecular epidemiology and public health. We should now look forward to exploiting these microarray resources and expanding the multi-disciplinary institutional and personal collaborations necessary for rapid progress in bacterial functional genomics.