Genomic Analysis Flashcards
Define genomics
The study of all the nucleotide sequences including structural genes, regulatory sequences and non-coding DNA segments in the chromosomes of an organism
What part of the protein cycle does genomics look at
Just DNA
What part of the protein cycle does functional genomics look at
The characterization of protein-DNA interactions on the genome of an organism
Looks at - DNA, RNA, Proteins
Define structural genomics
the dissection of the architectural features of genes and chromosomes - how they’re packaged up and their location
Define comparative genomics
the evolutionary relationships between the genes and proteins of different species
What does epigenomics/epigenetics look at
DNA methylation patterns, imprinting and DNA packaging
Define pharmacogenomics
new biological targets and new ways to design drugs and vaccines using genes.
E.g viral knock in etc
What is a genome
The single nucleotide sequence of an organisms hereditary information (DNA in humans).
How many base pairs are in the human genome
3.2X10[11] -3.2 billion
What was the first RNA genome sequenced
Bacteriophage MS2 - 1976
What was the first DNA genome to be sequenced
Phage Phi-X174 - 1977
Small with only 11 genes - this is to get in and out infected cells ASAP (smash and grab approach).
What is the trend between genome size and the number of genes
There is no real trend
What 3 things did the human genome project discover
Large centromeres of unsequenced repetitive data
21,700 genes
Only 1.5% actually code for proteins, the lowest % of all organisms
Of the 98.5% of the genome that don’t code for proteins, what does the rest do
Introns
Regulatory sequences (promoters etc)
Unique non-coding DNA
Repetitive DNA
How do mutations help calculate the age of an organism and its divergence from the evolutionary tree
DNA incorporates mutations at roughly an equal rate - 10[-5]-10[-6] mutations per base pair per generation.
This can act as a molecular clock - more mutations means more divergence from a common ancestor therefore the “newer” the species. (e.g. humans have more mutations than dinosaurs).
How do you compare genomes
Use a genome browser - can compare many species DNA sequences with each other
Computer algorithms align the sequences and provide a visual output of how alike they are.
What can genome browsers help show
Areas of the genome that are conserved throughout time across species - meaning the regions that are highly similar must be important to survival (Evolutionary conserved regions -ECR)
These similar sites are assessed to look for transcription factor binding sites.
Why is functional genomics, the study of DNA-protein interaction, important
Mis-regulation of transcription factors will change gene activity (up/down/on or off) and ultimately lead to changed protein levels = disease