Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

Show me the data!

Nature Genetics volume 29, page 373 (2001)Cite this article

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

The potential and power of gene expression analysis using DNA microarrays has lead to the widespread use of this technology. These expression or 'profiling' studies (as they are commonly known) are providing a new and unprecedented view of complex biological systems1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. The common practice of most scientific endeavors is that upon publication, the data that are the foundation of the paper are made available to the public. For example, when reporting newly discovered genes, scientists are required to submit the gene/protein sequence to GenBank before submitting the paper that describes the cloning and characterization of that gene. Why, then, is the standard different for the gene expression 'profiling' community?

In the past six months, I have reviewed five different microarray papers in a row (for five different journals), where in all cases, the primary microarray data tables were not provided anywhere. How can one judge the scientific integrity of the data or the conclusions drawn if one can not see the data? The question of what microarray data are to be made available and with what annotations is the subject of an article on minimal information about a microarray experiment (MIAME; see page 365; ref. 10); however, what is not being discussed is the need for data on all genes on the relevant microarrays to be made available to reviewers at the time of submission and to the community upon publication.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Access through your institution

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Alizadeh, A.A., et al. Nature 403, 503–511 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Alon, U. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 96, 6745–6750 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. DeRisi, J.L., Iyer, V.R. & Brown, P.O. Science 278, 680–686 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Eisen, M.B., Spellman, P.T., Brown, P.O. & Botstein, D. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 95, 14863–14868 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Gasch, A.P., et al. Mol. Biol. Cell 11, 4241–4257 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Golub, T.R., et al. Science 286, 531–537 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hughes, T.R., et al. Cell 102, 109–126 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Perou, C.M., et al. Nature 406, 747–752 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Winzeler, E.A., Lee, B., McCusker, J.H. & Davis, R.W. Parasitol. 118, S73–S80 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Brazma, A., et al. Nature Genet. 29, 365–371 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Brown, P.O. & Botstein, D. Nature Genet. 21, 33–37 (1999).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and Department of Genetics, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    Charles M. Perou

Authors
  1. Charles M. Perou
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Charles M. Perou.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Perou, C. Show me the data!. Nat Genet 29, 373 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1201-373

Download citation

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ng1201-373

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing