The main objective of the Action is to establish and support microarray technology - in the form of nucleic acid- and protein-based arrays - as a new tool for breeding, diagnosis, and high throughput screening in the field of agriculture.

The need for a flexible system that allows molecular diagnostics of large sample sizes of many species has long been recognised. However, current technology generally requires focusing on narrow taxonomic groups. Microarray technology, being based on highly parallel simultaneous analysis, has shown its potential for large-scale genome analysis. The technology would allow for simultaneous querying of hundreds of species specific markers and will thus enable the production of micro-array chips that can be used for larger taxonomic groups such as the entire bacteria or, in higher eukaryotes, for example the entire class of insecta. The broad availability of this widely applicable technology will promote and protect development of agricultural products in Europe. The Action will provide a platform to introduce and support this important new technology to many European countries.