Julia C. Engelmann¹, Roland Schwarz¹, Steffen Blenk, Torben Friedrich, Philipp N. Seibel, Thomas Dandekar and Tobias Müller

Department of Bioinformatics, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany.  ¹Both authors contributed equally.

Abstract

Over the past years, microarray databases have increased rapidly in size. While they offer a wealth of data, it remains challenging to integrate data arising from different studies. Here we propose an unsupervised approach of a large-scale meta-analysis on Arabidopsis thaliana whole genome expression datasets to gain additional insights into the function and regulation of genes. Applying kernel principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering, we found three major groups of experimental contrasts sharing a common biological trait. Genes associated to two of these clusters are known to play an important role in indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) mediated plant growth and development or pathogen defense. Novel functions could be assigned to genes including a cluster of serine/threonine kinases that carry two uncharacterized domains (DUF26) in their receptor part implicated in host defense. With the approach shown here, hidden interrelations between genes regulated under different conditions can be unraveled.