Question

Which of the following is untrue about SAGE?

(a) This approach is much more efficient than the EST analysis

(b) This approach is quite less efficient than the EST analysis

(c) It uses a short nucleotide tag to define a gene transcript

(d) It allows sequencing of multiple tags in a single clone

I have been asked this question in my homework.

My question is from Comparison of SAGE and DNA Microarrays in chapter Functional Genomics & Proteomics of Bioinformatics

Answer 1

The correct option is (b) This approach is quite less efficient than the EST analysis

The explanation is: If an average clone has a size of 700 bp, it can contain up to 50 sequence tags (15 bp each), which means that the SAGE method can be at least fifty times more efficient than the brute force EST sequencing and counting. Therefore, the SAGE analysis has a better chance of detecting weakly expressed genes.