Introduction to Bioinformatics - Part 2 Flashcards
What causes cancer?
Damage to our DNA / genes
- Natural accumulation of DNA damage (cancer occurs more often in older people)
- Exposure to factors that damage DNA (eg: UV, smoking)
- Inheriting faults in genes that increases risk of developing cancer
Does all DNA damage cause cancer?
No
Damage to certain genes, so called cancer driver genes, contribute to cancer
How do we identify what went wrong in cancer genome?
Compare DNA of cancer cells to DNA from healthy cells
To understand cancer, can look for association of genetic and genomic factors with what?
human health and disease,
their prevalence within families and populations,
their interactions with environmental factors,
and their contribution to disease risk.
Studying genetic and genomics may help to…
.) diagnose the disease
.) predict how severe the disease might be
.) choose the best medicine and correct dose
.) could find genetic factors that could be passed on to the next generation
What change is often found in the cancer genome?
Aneuploidy- quantity of genome changes
DNA& RNA sequencing is the process of what?
Determining the precise order of nucleotides within a DNA & RNA molecule
What four bases is DNA composed of?
Adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine (A,G,C,T )
What four bases if RNA composed of?
Adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil
A,G,C, U
What do NGS technologies facilitate?
Massively Parallel Sequencing
- multiple sequencing reactions are running simultaneously
What are the predominant applications of whole genome sequencing?
Structural variants
Point mutations
Copy number variation
What are the predominant applications of whole exome sequencing?
Point mutations
Copy number variation
What are the predominant applications of PCR amplicon?
Point mutations
Deletions
What are the predominant applications of transcriptome RNA?
Gene expression
Gene fusions
Splice variants
What are the predominant applications of exon capture transcriptome?
Gene expression
Gene fusions
Splice variants