Microarray analysis of Drosophila development during metamorphosis

Metamorphosis is an integrated set of developmental processes controlled by a transcriptional hierarchy that coordinates the action of hundreds of gen es. In order to identify and analyze the expression of these genes, high-de nsity DNA microarrays containing several thousand Drosophila melanogaster g ene sequences were constructed. Many differentially expressed genes can be assigned to developmental pathways known to be active during metamorphosis, whereas others can be assigned to pathways not previously associated with metamorphosis. Additionally, many genes of unknown function were identified that may be involved in the control and execution of metamorphosis. The ut ility of this genome-based approach is demonstrated for studying a set of c omplex biological processes in a multicellular organism.