Dynamic transcriptome of mice

Life science in the 21(st) century is developing rapidly through the structural analysis of biomolecules, the completion of the human genome sequence and the analysis of transcriptomes. The mouse transcriptome has been comprehensively analyzed using a gene discovery approach to collect full-length cDNA (FL-cDNA) clones. The framework of the transcriptome was then mapped out by an international Functional ANnoTation Of Mouse cDNA (FANTOM) effort, and a significant new population of noncoding transcripts was discovered. The geographical analogy of a second 'RNA continent,' separate from the 'continent' of expressed proteins, aids the visualization of this concept. An unexpected number of variations was discovered in the mouse transcriptome. The animal transcriptome has evolved to produce several transcripts and proteins from a single 'transcriptional unit'. Transcriptome analysis has given rise to the FL-cDNA database and to the 60 770 FANTOM FL-cDNA clone set, and the DNABook was developed as an easier way to distribute these clones. In conjunction with genome sequence databases, transcriptome databases and clone banks will be platforms for developing advanced databases of gene function (e.g. the Genome Function Database). This will enable life science to make rapid progress towards understanding life as a system of molecules.