RIFA: A Differential Gene Connectivity Algorithm

With the invention of microarray technology, scientists finally had a means to measure global changes in gene expression between two biological states [1]. This has led to thousands of scientific publications describing long lists of differentially expressed genes in each scientist’s favorite experimental system. What has gradually become apparent to biologists is that having a list of differentially expressed genes, while an important first step in understanding the differences between two phenotypes (where phenotype represents the physical manifestation of one or more traits), is often not enough to identify the genes most directly responsible for driving changes in phenotype. While it is true that genes that are differentially expressed between two biological states may be important in explaining those differences, it is also possible that genes whose expression is not changed can also be pivotal in driving phenotypic differences.