Housekeeping Genes

Mamatha Mahadevappa, Affymetrix, Inc., Santa Clara, California, USA
Janet A Warrington, Affymetrix, Inc., Santa Clara, California, USA

Published online: March 2003

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0000846

Housekeeping genes are those genes that encode proteins that carry out basic cellular maintenance functions and are required for cell survival and successful completion of the cell cycle.

Keywords: cellular maintenance genes; endogenous reference standards; control genes; internal control genes; gene function

Figure 1. Group A: examples of housekeeping genes whose expression levels are similar, (less than 2-fold different) in various tissue types. Group B: examples of housekeeping genes whose expression levels differ by greater than 2-fold across a variety of tissue types.
Figure 2. Percentage of housekeeping genes in relation to the total number of genes mapped to each chromosome.
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Related Sub-Topics:

Intracellular and Extracellular Signalling | Cell Cycle | Gene and Genome Structure and Organisation | Transcriptional Regulation | Mechanisms of Cell Death, Senescence and Metabolism
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Article Title: Housekeeping Genes
 
How to Cite close
Mahadevappa, Mamatha, and Warrington, Janet A(Mar 2003) Housekeeping Genes. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0000846]