Computer Analysis Of Genetic Macromolecules

Molecular biology and genetics are fast-growing fields with significant results and findings being reported virtually every day. Raw data from the wet lab accumulate at an astonishing rate, making it necessary to analyze the biological data with the use of computers. This book reveals how the current challenges of molecular biology and genetics are met with computer and mathematical treatments. A combined effort of the Computational Genetics and Biophysics Group (Supercomputer Computations Research Institute, USA), the Theoretical Molecular Genetics (Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia) and the Bioinformatics Group (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Italy), many of these findings are firsthand discoveries made by these groups. The book emphasizes the fundamental principles of the structural-functional organization of the 3 major classes of genetic macromolecules: DNA, RNA and proteins. It also introduces universally applicable theoretical principles into the enormous realm of raw data and develops an integrative, theoretical computer approach to the analysis of these macromolecules to gain insights into the complexities of their function and evolution.

This volume supplements Volume 183 in the "Methods in Enyzmology" series and complements Volume 224. It addresses a variety of areas in which computers are used to manage and manipulate macromolecular sequence data. The manipulations include searching, aligning and determining the significance of similarities as well as the construction of phylogenetic trees that show evolutionary history of related sequences

Provides a definitive bibliographic review of the literature related to DNA mapping and sequence analysis, with a focus on computer and mathematical aspects of molecular biology and genetics. Over 2200 entries, arranged by author's name.

DNA sequencing has become increasingly efficient over the years, resulting in an enormous increase in the amount of data gen- ated. In recent years, the focus of sequencing has shifted, from being the endpoint of a project, to being a starting point. This is especially true for such major initiatives as the human genome project, where vast tracts of DNA of unknown function are sequenced. This sheer volume of available data makes advanced computer methods ess- tial to analysis, and a familiarity with computers and sequence ana- sis software a vital requirement for the researcher involved with DNA sequencing. Even for nonsequencers, a familiarity with sequence analysis software can be important. For instance, gene sequences already present in the databases can be extremely useful in the design of cloning and genetic manipulation experiments. This two-part work on Analysis of Data is designed to be a practical aid to the researcher who uses computers for the acquisition, storage, or analysis of nucleic acid (and/or p- tein) sequences. Each chapter is written such that a competent sci- tist with basic computer literacy can carry out the procedure successfully at the first attempt by simply following the detailed pr- tical instructions that have been described by the author. A Notes section, which is included at the end of each chapter, provides advice on overcoming the common problems and pitfalls sometimes enco- tered by users of the sequence analysis software. Software packages for both the mainframe and personal computers are described.

Presents up-to-date computer methods for analysing DNA, RNA and protein sequences.

Recent developments in molecular biology, genomics, proteomics, and other areas have produced a wealth of experimental data on sequences and three-dimensional structures of biological macromolecules. As a result, the employment of various computational methods of analysis to obtain useful information is now a major new discipline: bioinformatics. The Dictionary of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology provides a vital reference for important terms, offering students and researchers a convenient summary of the core knowledge of the field. With concise and accurate definitions of over 600 words, phrases, and concepts, this volume: Offers thorough A—Z coverage Lists references and Internet links Incorporates cross-referencing throughout Features a comprehensive index of topics Anyone working in basic sciences and clinical research today will find the Dictionary of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology to be an essential companion.

The aim of the Conference and its proceedings is to provide a forum in which experts from both the academic and the industrial sectors as well as other interested individuals (young researchers and students) can gain a first hand knowledge of the scope, direction and future prospects in the international initiation of human genome research and its supporting technologies of electrophoresis and computing.

This collection contains papers by participants in the seminar on mathematical methods in molecular biology who worked for several years at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Bioorganic Chemistry (now the Institute of Physical and Chemical Problems in Biology) at Moscow State University. The seminar united mathematicians and biologists around the problems of biological sequences. The collection includes original results as well as expository material and spans a range of perspectives, from purely mathematical problems to algorithms and their computer realizations. For this reason, the book is of interest to mathematicians, statisticians, biologists, and computational scientists who work with biopolymer sequences.