Title: Genomes, Transcriptomes, Proteomes, and Bioinformatics
Abstract: Genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics are intimately linked by the central dogma of molecular biology. Most recently, RNA-Seq, an amalgam of standard molecular biology techniques and computational methodologies, has emerged as the premier tool to identify and quantify gene expression. The utility and popularity of RNA-Seq as a transcriptomics tool is a based on the high-throughput character of next-generation sequencing (NGS), of which RNA-Seq is an excellent example. RNA-Seq has revolutionized and invigorated mining of the transcriptome for its secrets by providing much greater latitude in experimental design to look at the makeup of the transcriptome at heretofore unknown levels of detail and to further refine the current models of gene expression. To date, a major impediment for many laboratories has been the cost of whole transcriptome sequencing. Bioinformatics is a unique blend of basic biology, genetics, and information sciences and it refers to the use of digital technology to analyze DNA sequence data, RNA (and cDNA) sequence data, and protein sequence information. Genomics elucidates the precise stretches of DNA that constitute discrete genes. One of the primary methods used to accomplish this goal is to examine sequencing data for an open reading frame (ORF). Proteomics as a discipline has an important role in discerning gene function, and has evolved into the global study of patterns of protein expression in cells and tissues, rather than the analysis of one protein at a time. Metabolomics, essentially compound profiling in the cell, in the blood, or in another fluid, is the logical extension of proteomics. Unlike proteomics, metabolomics is concerned with the changes that are wrought by the various proteins produced by the cell. These changes correlate directly with the precise posttranslational modification(s) of the protein and the local environment. The field of metabolomics originated more than three decades ago, and is now enjoying something of a resurgence because of the large amount of protein sequencing information being added to protein databases daily. Protein informatics has become a specialized, formidable subdivision of bioinformatics. Bioinformatics tools are also used to predict the folding of proteins, based on the 1° structure (the order of amino acids), from which it may be possible to infer function.
Publication Year: 2017
Publication Date: 2017-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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