SANTA CLARA, Calif., — Affymetrix Inc. (Nasdaq:AFFX) announced today the launch of the GeneChip(R) Human Tiling 1.0R Array Set and Mouse 1.1R Array Set, the only commercially available microarrays for whole-genome transcript mapping. These new arrays look far beyond the known protein-coding genes to deliver the most detailed and unbiased view of the entire human and mouse genomes, enabling researchers to map transcription factors and other protein binding domains. Recent scientific publications using Affymetrix tiling arrays have uncovered broad transcriptional activity in large regions of the genome that were once considered “junk” DNA.

Thomas R. Gingeras, Ph.D., vice president of biological science, and his team at Affymetrix Research Laboratories have been pioneering GeneChip tiling technology since 2000. In a series of seminal manuscripts published in Science, Cell and Genome Research, this team has reported that at least 35 percent of the human genome is transcribed and can be detected as stable, processed RNA transcripts, much more than the two percent of the genome previously assumed to be active.

“During the past six years, the work we have done at Affymetrix has motivated scientists to reconsider how the genome is organized and regulated,” said Gingeras. “Now, with the commercial availability of GeneChip tiling arrays, researchers everywhere can generate higher-resolution maps of the entire human or mouse genome. This new information will accelerate biological understanding of human health.”

The GeneChip Human and Mouse tiling array sets consist of 14 arrays. The arrays interrogate all of the non-repetitive portions of the human and mouse genomes. Each set of arrays generates almost 90 million data points at regular 35 base pair intervals. In conjunction with standard Affymetrix GeneChip equipment, researchers in any laboratory can use these arrays as discovery tools to gain a better understanding of gene structure, function and regulation.