Nanotechnologies applied to the analysis of the animal genome

Whole genome sequence information and high throughput technologies are speeding up the investigation of cellular processes leading to the phenotypic expression of genetic information. Nanotechnologies provide innovative tools to accomplish this task, increasing throughput and sensitivity and decreasing cost and time of analyses. Goals as ambitious as the sequencing of a mammalian-sized genome in a matter of hours, and of detecting gene expression from a single cell, are just around the corner. Animal breeding will benefit from these advances in the understanding of the genetic basis of complex traits and in the application of molecular information for marker and gene assisted selection.