MICROARRAYS AND 2-D GELS: NEW TOOLS FOR POST-GENOMIC MUSCLE BIOLOGY

The complete genome sequencing has opened the way to the investigation of the transcriptional activity of thousands of genes (i.e the transcriptome) through DNA microarrays. In parallel to these technological developments high-resolution twodimensional gels combined with sensitive mass spectrometry and other new methods provide the possibility of studying all proteins present in cells (i.e. the proteome). Both transcriptome and proteome investigations are characterized by an unprecedented resolution power (high throughput) and by their totally descriptive character, so that a physiological condition or a specific tissue is explored without any preliminary hypothesis to be tested; on the other hand, the results of the high throughput studies are very often the starting point for the generation of new hypothesis to be validated in subsequent experiments. This paper aims to briefly review the most recent technological developments and their application to muscle physiology and pathology.