The emerging power of chemical genetics

Chemical genetic methods allow signal transduction pathways to be probed in a domain-specific manner. This subtle perturbation of function, when combined with classical genetic and biochemical data, allows for a better understanding of protein function. This in turn is leading to elucidation of pharmacological maps of signaling pathways. Recent studies have focused on diverse pathways, including the initiation of actin polymerization, oncogenic tyrosine kinase control of cell transformation, and molecular motor involvement in adaptation of sensory cells of the inner ear.