On the relevance of technical variation due to building pools in microarray experiments [Honey bee]. Apis mellifera

The objective of the study was to assess the technical error due to blending of individual samples into pools in different experimental data sets. The blending error variance component corresponds to random effects for inaccuracies, which were modeled on the logarithmic scale of normalized gene expression. It's estimation based on a linear mixed model, fitted for each transcript. Overall design: Honey bees showing hygienic behavior towards Varroa-parasitized brood were compared with controls and among each other. Tissues from mushroom body, antennal lobe and Antennae of honey bees were processed for microarray analysis. They were measured as single samples as well as pooled samples from 2 or 4 individuals.